‘Quick Dim’ on Chromebooks to Detect Human Presence to Dim the Screen

Google is working on a new privacy feature for Chrome OS. Quick Dim quickly dims or locks Chromebooks for better privacy.

Quick Dim – Lock on Leave

Google is preparing a set of smart privacy features for your Chromebook. Recently we saw reports on a new ‘snooping detection‘ feature. Now, I can tell you about another one named ‘Quick Dim.’ Google might change the name of this feature before it is released to the public, though.

So, what is quick dim? Here is the flag description that I spotted today in Chromium code:

Enable lock on leave – Enables lock on leave feature to better dim or lock the device. Can be enabled and disabled from the Smart privacy section of your device settings.

What does it do? The flag description gives us some details. Unfortunately, I could not find anything further from related code comments. However, they all point to a feature wherein you can quickly make your Chromebook dim the screen or lock-in.

By default, standard dim is enabled. However, you will have the option to change this to quick dim. Users can revert quick dim by interacting with the Chromebook. Now, there is one more exciting option.

In the screenshot above, do you see “QUick Dim Reverted By HPS”? HPS stands for the Human Presence Sensor that Google is believed to be working on. That means Chromebooks can revert from quick dim when they detect a human nearby. However, how will it identify if it is the user or not, I am not sure? Maybe it will “undim” but will not unlock the Chromebook?

Summary

It might take a while before we see this new feature in action. Google might be planning to launch a bunch of intelligent privacy features together. Maybe with a new set of Chromebooks for the enterprise market?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this new smart dim feature. Let me know in the comments section below.

Source: Chromium Gerrit.