Users can now set up additional authentication methods, save password notes, easily import from other password managers, and more.
This week Google unveiled a suite of new features that enhance the functionality of the company’s password management utility. Google Password Manager instantly generates unique passwords. It then autofills them when a user logs into their Google Account on Chrome. This can be done from their computer or an Android or iOS device. This new update aims to make that process faster, easier and safer.
Adding security and ease-of-use
The new features are designed “to make Google Password Manager even more secure, helpful and easy to use”, wrote Patrick Nepper, Group Product Manager for Google Chrome in a blog post this week. The first new feature enhances usability: “Google Password Manager now has a dedicated home in Chrome on desktop, making it easier to review all your saved online credentials or change your password settings”, Nepper writes. And for even quicker access, users can now create a desktop shortcut for Google Password Manager, he adds.
Next up: Biometric authentication. If users enable this feature (which is coming to desktop soon), they can require an additional layer of security before Chrome autofills their password, like fingerprint recognition, facial recognition or other methods supported by their computer’s operating system.
Thirdly, users can now add notes to the credentials they save in Google Password Manager, thereby keeping all their important login details in one place.
Making it easy to switch from other platforms
There is also a new import function. “If you want to give Google Password Manager a try or you’re ready to make the switch, it’s now easy to upload your passwords from other password managers. Just export your passwords as a .csv file and import them directly into Chrome on your computer”, Nepper explains.
Finally, Google is making it easier to find reused and weak passwords on iOS. In addition to flagging compromised passwords, Password Checkup on iOS will also flag weak and reused passwords, Nepper explains, adding that this particular feature will be available as an update “in the coming months”.
19 hours ago
