This Chrome extension helps you login to your online accounts just by tracking how you type

Neon, Lyric, Pepper, Silk were the other options. What was finally chosen as the name for this famous programming language? (Picture: Pixabay)

Artificial Intelligence and machine learning has revolutionised how we experience the internet, from predictive search to navigating through a traffic jam, we have come a long way.

Now a tool working on machine learning is simplifying the two-factor authentication which many e-mail and social media service providers use to protect your online accounts—all by tracking how you type.

The New York-based startup TypingDNA has come with a Chrome extension, TypingDNA Authenticator, which does away with the cumbersome process of taking out your phone every time to look for authentication codes or scan QR code.

The company, in a statement to TechCrunch, says its service recognises typing pattern which it claims is unique to every individual. The tool measures how long it takes you to reach a key, and how long you keep the key pressed down; this pattern is then associated with a user’s account.

“At TypingDNA we use revolutionary AI to replace traditional 2FA with typing pattern authentication, also known as 'typing biometrics',” the information on the extension's Chrome Store page reads.

As soon as you download the extension, the extension will ask you to enrol as a local user, valid only for the device you are working one. The extension makes sure that even if someone grabs your credentials and reaches this step, that person will not be able to log in to the authenticator as it captures the “typing biometrics” of the person.

Once you enter your email id and a password, you can set up a variety of popular services with TypingDNA authenticator which include Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Amazon—just a few of the 1000 sites it works on.

To verify for the second-factor authentication (2FA), log in to the TypingDNA extension, then from the site’s interface (for e.g., Gmail) generate the QR code. Then click on the TypingDNA extension’s button, it will grab the QR code for you and you can proceed to the website.