After months of speculation, Chrome 108 looks to be rolling out an updating passwords 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, which sees the company’s own password manager take over responsibility for saved details from the browser itself.
Google Password Manager for Android
Checking up on saved passwords is about to become a lot easier, too, with the new menu found inside the Settings menu of Chrome, rather than in Google > Manage your Google Account > Security > Password Manager, inside the Settings app. This will give the platform an upper-hand over Apple, with passwords accessed via a number of sub-menus within the Settings app.
In an effort to simplify password management and make it easier to highlight compromised passwords, the interface follows a similar route to the passwords.google.com interface, which will be able to be protected by biometrics such as a fingerprint.
The update was first noticed in Chrome 103, however it looks like it will take its full form in version 108 which launched right at the end of November 2022.
Making it easier to locate and change passwords could be a sign that Google is preparing to ramp up its passwordless login feature, which has struggled to gain any momentum as yet.
Major competition has come from Apple, which is also turning its attention to a passwordless future, and while the revolution is built using the same technology, it remains unclear how users will be able to transfer passwords from an iOS device to an Android device (and vice versa), having an effect that’s likely to lock users in to an operating system until a simple solution is detailed.
