Google Chrome on Android is about to get a massive upgrade for password managers that’s been a long time coming

Autofill will be enabled for third party password managers

News By Jamie Richards published 18 October 2024

Google is finally fixing a longstanding problem with the way third-party password managers work within the Android version of Chrome.

In an update coming next month, Google will enable native autofill for third-party password manager apps like Dashlane and 1Password in the Chrome app on Android.

The update was announced in a post to Google’s Android Developers Blog by developer advocate Eiji Kitamura and will hopefully alleviate several issues with the way such password managers work with the app currently.

In the post, Kitamura details current issues including “showing duplicate suggestions from Google and a third party”, and “janky page scrolling” when using third party password managers. This stems from the password manager having to use a “compatibility mode” when interacting with Chrome, even when set as the Android phone’s system default in settings. As The Verge notes, this causes glitching that isn’t present on Safari or even Chrome for iOS.

The forthcoming update will, in turn, enable third party password managers to natively autofill passwords and passkeys, as well as other details including addresses and payment information.

How to test the update yourself

This fix will hopefully put an end to the issues. But if you’d rather check for yourself you can test the new third party password manager integration by installing a beta version of the upcoming Chrome 131 update from the Google Play store and following these instructions.

First, head to the Settings app and select the Passwords, passkeys and accounts tab, and tap the Change button underneath the currently selected service. Select a new third party service.

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