what you need to know
- Google is working on bringing password sharing functionality to Android users, similar to the same feature being developed for Chrome.
- This will work through its password manager and let users “safely” share their credentials with family members or people saved in groups.
- After testing Chrome began in November, it became clear that users would need to change their credentials if they no longer wanted to “share” their passwords.
Google appears to be working on bringing password sharing to Android devices, such as Chrome on the desktop.
TheSpAndroid discovered that the latest Google Play services version (September 24, 2012) shows signs of the “password sharing” feature of Google Password Manager (via Android Authority). The post explains that when it arrives, users will notice a “Share” button. Clicking on it produces a brief message stating “You can securely share a copy of your password with someone in your family group.”
Additionally, this new “Share” button appears to appear in Google’s password manager when managing your previously saved passwords.
Further digging revealed that the manager’s upcoming sharing feature only works with passwords, not any saved keys.
What remains to be seen is the user experience take over As Android Authority points out, access passwords. As of now, further research cannot yield more results, considering the feature is still under development. It’s unclear when Google plans to roll out the password sharing feature in Password Manager on Android.
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Google Chrome implemented password sharing through a Canary build test in November. Much of the UI that the company started testing for Chrome last year remains in early previews of Android. Testing in Chrome shows that shared passwords will provide the associated website link, username, password, and any notes written by the owner.
Testing also showed that recipients of shared passwords must also use Google’s password manager. However, it is clear that if the user wants to stop “sharing”, they will have to change the website password through the administrator.
For mobile devices, Google has rolled out an update for Pixel users that will make it easier to find their saved credentials. Users finally get a convenient password manager shortcut icon. Previously, users would need to dig into system settings to rediscover the list of saved credentials.