After months of speculation, Chrome 108 appears to be rolling out a password update interface for Android users.
According to 9To5Google (opens in new tab)Google is replacing the Android browser’s native credentials list with its multi-platform Google Password Manager.
Some Chrome 107 users are also seeing the rollout, with the company’s own password manager taking over responsibility for saved data from the browser itself.
Google Password Manager for Android
Checking saved passwords also gets a lot easier with the new menu in Chrome’s Settings menu, rather than in Google > Manage your Google account > Security > Password manager, in the Settings app. This gives the platform an edge over Apple, with passwords accessible from a number of submenus in the Settings app.
In an effort to simplify password management and make it easier to flag compromised passwords, the interface follows a similar route to the passwords.google.com interface, which can be protected by biometrics such as a fingerprint.
The update was first spotted in Chrome 103, but it looks like it will take its full form in version 108, which launched in late November 2022.
Making it easier to locate and change passwords could be a sign that Google is preparing to expand its passwordless login feature, which has struggled to gain traction so far.
Big competition has come from Apple, which is also turning its attention to a password-less future, and while the revolution is built on the same technology, it remains unclear how users can transfer passwords from an iOS device to an Android device (and vice versa). ), with an effect likely to keep users stuck with an operating system until a simple fix is worked out.