Google Password Manager gained the ability to import passwords from .csv files in June of 2023.
Source: Google

If you use Chrome as your web browser, the temptation is strong also to take advantage of the free Google Password Manager to store and autofill your credentials across the internet. Today, it's announcing a few quality-of-life improvements that will make it more compelling to use than competing services.

The bulk of these new features serve users on desktops where you'll find the Google Password Manager brand more prominently placed — you'll be able to see that in the Chrome settings menu. You'll also be able to access the service by selecting Manage passwords when a credential autofill menu pops up or by placing a shortcut on your desktop.

The bolder branding seems to go hand-in-hand with the introduction of an importing feature. Yes, you'll be able to bring your passwords from another service over to Google by uploading a .csv.

Desktop users will also be able to add biometric authentication to Google Password Manager if their device supports it. They can then opt to authenticate a password autofill by using fingerprint, facial, or another form of verification.

Google Password Manager lets users attach notes to a credential set.
Source: Google

Users will also be able to add notes to their credentials, too. Existing passwords can be updated in the settings while new passwords can be annotated upon when the Save password? box appears. Such notes are handy for remembering an extra detail about a login process, such as an additional PIN.

Google Password Manager gained the ability to import passwords from .csv files in June of 2023.
Source: Google

With all of these feature additions, it seems Google is attempting to catch up with the likes of 1Password and Dashlane — many of them already have such features. But the most apparent sign that Google Password Manager is looking for some new users is that it is finally accepting password imports via .csv files. We'll want to see if the company will be eager to report on how many imports it has taken in, say, a year's time.

Password Checkup, a feature of Google Password Manager on various platforms, comes to iOS.
Source: Google

Google Password Manager for Chrome on iOS is also getting some care. The company says it is enlarging its autofill prompt so that it's easier to tap. It's also reorganizing account listings in the settings so that multiple logins for a single site will be nested with each other. Finally, it's bringing Password Checkup, a handy feature that's been on Android and the desktop for a couple of years now, to iOS "in the coming months." This feature tracks the presence of your passwords on numerous exposé forums and urges you to change compromised, reused, or weak passwords. It's a bit weird to see this much lag time on such an important function, but now is never too late, we suppose.

Again, the main takeaway we're getting here is that Google Password Manager wants to be taken more seriously against its major competitors — to what further end this serves, we're not exactly sure at the moment. But considering its integration into Chrome, the most popular web browser in the world, Google would need to pick up the pace to get to feature parity with the crowd.

That said, as the tech industry makes its concerted effort to transition away from passwords towards passkeys, Google Password Manager is in a prime position to store and sync them across every platform you use Chrome on, including Android.

Source: Google