Andy Walker / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Chrome for Android now offers the ability to use third-party password managers and autofill solutions.
- The app has long restricted you to using Google’s password manager and Chrome Autofill.
- This new feature requires you to enable a flag and isn’t 100% reliable just yet.
Android has pretty robust support for password managers and autofill providers, but this doesn’t extend to Chrome for Android. Instead, Chrome users have to rely on Google’s password manager and Chrome’s autofill for entering and saving credentials.
That looks to be changing as X user Leopeva64 has discovered that Chrome for Android now lets you use other password managers and autofill providers.
The functionality isn’t available out of the box, but Android Police reports that you’ll need to enable a specific Chrome flag (chrome://flags/#enable-autofill-virtual-view-structure).
Once you’ve enabled the feature, you’ll find it under “Autofill Options” in the settings menu. Tap this feature, and you’ll be presented with two options, namely “Default” (Google Password Manager and Chrome Autofill) or “Use other providers.” To use other password managers or autofill providers, you’ll need to enable them in your Android phone’s settings menu.
Do you use a third-party password manager on your phone?
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Unfortunately, it seems like this feature still needs some time in the oven. I found that third-party password managers don’t immediately suggest saved usernames at first, although they indeed suggest passwords just fine. We can also corroborate the outlet’s claim that the alternative password manager doesn’t prompt you to save new credentials after first entering them, but you do have a button to manually enter them for later use.
In other words, it’s clear that this feature isn’t ready for prime time just yet. But this would nevertheless be a long-overdue addition to Chrome on Android, especially for people who don’t want all their eggs in the Google basket or those who use third-party solutions for work.