Linux Mint 22.2 adds fingerprint login, new core app updates, and ends 20.x support

Linux Mint will introduce native fingerprint login support in version 22.2 through a new app called Fingwit. This enables biometric authentication for system login, screensaver unlock, sudo operations, and other administrative actions. It uses fprintd as its backend and includes a custom module that falls back to password prompts when necessary, such as with encrypted home directories.

Fingwit is designed to work across all desktop environments and Linux distributions, and its development was influenced by Mint’s ongoing collaboration with hardware maker Framework. The same release will also include a newer hardware enablement (HWE) kernel for better support of modern devices.

Linux Mint 22.2 will update core apps like GNOME Calendar, Simple Scan, and Baobab Disk Usage Analyzer to libAdwaita-based versions. To improve theme compatibility, Mint developers have patched and forked libAdwaita into a new project called libAdapta. Separately, Mint 20.x reached end of life in April 2024, and users are urged to clean install version 22.1 to receive updates through 2029.