Google will update Chrome on Android next month to greatly improve how password managers work within the mobile browser. Chrome on Android will allow Third-party password managers to natively autofill forms on websites, improving the experience of apps like 1Password, Dashlane, and others.
Google offers its own password manager in Chrome, along with passcodes and autofill support for information like your address and payment card details. While you can set up a preferred autofill service on Android, it uses a compatibility mode within Chrome which makes it feel very problematic for third-party password managers. I regularly switch between iOS and Android devices, and using 1Password on iOS seems like a much better experience in Chrome, although it still doesn’t match the superior integration in Safari.
Google admits that its current Chrome offering on Android results in “strange page scrolling” and possible duplicate suggestions from Google and a third-party password manager. “With this upcoming change, Chrome on Android will allow third-party autofill services to auto-populate forms natively, giving users a smoother and easier user experience,” says Eiji Kitamuram, a developer advocate on the Chrome team. Google Chrome. “Third-party autofill services can autofill passwords, passcodes, and other information such as addresses and payment details, just as they would in other Android apps.”
You can start testing this new functionality in Chrome 131 and later. After setting up a third-party password manager as your preferred autofill service, you’ll need to toggle a Chrome flag to get the new autofill experience. All Chrome users on Android will get this new experience on November 12, when Chrome 131 is scheduled to enter the stable channel.