Google has announced a major security update to the Password Manager on its Chrome browser that is aimed at helping users maintain their passwords natively and rely less on third-party managers such as 1Password, Bitwarden, Dashlane, and LastPass.
While the update is set to include seven new features, Google has highlighted five of the new functions as of Friday. The update will have support for Chrome on desktop and iOS.
The first feature of the update is a dedicated Password Manager space within your Chrome menu, where you can find other options including Check up and Settings. Google notes that this design change makes it easy to access passwords. You can also set up a shortcut to the Google Password Manager on your PC desktop without going through the triple-dot menu on Chrome.
The update now also brings biometric authentication to PCs that support the function. This would work as a form of multifactor authentication in options where Chrome would autofill a password. You can opt to confirm your password with a fingerprint or facial recognition.
The notes feature in this update allows you to store additional information in the Google Password Manager that is associated with your password, such as a pin number you’d need to remember to log in or if you have several accounts for one website. You can click the key icon of a site you’re logging into to access the notes you have for that page.
To have all of your passwords in one place in Google Password Manager, the brand has made it simple to import your data from other password managers. To do so, you need only export your passwords in a .CSV format and then import them into Chrome on your computer.
Google is bringing its Password Checkup function, which is already on desktop and Android, to iOS to help iPhone users detect weak and reused passwords while using Chrome. This is one of the updates that isn’t coming right away, but rather in the coming months.
Microsoft recently announced updates to its Edge browser that have been seen as competition with Google’s Chrome browser. The features include the general availability of Copilot, which is the blending of OpenAI’s ChatGPT chat feature into the brand’s 365 suite of apps, including Teams, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and now Edge. Microsoft also made its Sidebar app-building platform for Microsoft Edge generally available for developers.
Google’s update comes months after LastPass suffered a major security breach, which it kept under the radar for over six months. Although Chrome has supported a password manager for many years, the newest changes might bring it up to the level of the best password managers available.
