What you need to know
- Google Chrome found testing a new password-sharing feature.
- Login credentials from Google Password Manager can now be shared with your family members.
- There doesn't appear to be a way to revoke access, with the only option being to change your password.
- The feature can easily be enabled by tweaking a Chrome flag.
Google Chrome seems to be getting a handy new feature for users who want to share their saved passwords with others, but only certain users have access to it for now.
The feature was pointed out by an X user, Leopeva64 (via Android Police), who showed off the ease of sharing the saved password from the existing Google Password Manager tool in Chrome for desktop. The feature is currently available for Chrome Canary build, letting users share their passwords with their family members, at least for now.
This is Chrome's new password sharing feature in action (finally works for me):https://t.co/dSJlp3gfHD .https://t.co/k0Hxt1IWz2 pic.twitter.com/ZSJoeD2ewFNovember 14, 2023
Leopeva64 has showcased how easy it is to share the password from the Password Manager section on Chrome, wherein the "share" button can be found right under the login credentials. The sharing ability includes the respective website link associated with the credentials, including username, password, and user's notes, if available.
Some nifty animations indicate the credentials are being shared with contacts under the family section linked to your Google account. Users have to checkmark the respective contact with whom they want to share the password; after the transfer, the recipient can utilize the credentials provided they are using the Password Manager on their Chrome browser.
Interestingly, once the password is shared with a family member, the only way to stop sharing the login credentials is to change the original password on the respective account once, as noted by the dialogue in the above GIF. It's not clear if Google plans to add options to revoke sharing or sync updates to login credentials.
The Google Password Manager was updated earlier this year for Chrome desktop users, giving it a dedicated space in the browser menu and the ability to add it as a shortcut on the desktop, among other features.
It still needs to be determined when this new password-sharing feature will roll out to stable-build Chrome users on desktops. With the feature popping up in the Canary build, it could soon make its way to stable builds. And while it may be helpful for certain cases, recent crackdowns on password sharing from apps like Netflix and Disney Plus make this feature feel a bit late.
While Chrome Canary build users have the feature in action, other Chrome users can still access it by tweaking the browser's flags. Android Police notes that it can be activated by heading to "chrome://flags/#password-sharing" and clicking enable. Notably, Chrome users and family members who want to share/receive the password must enable the aforementioned flag if they want to use the feature before it goes official.
