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Google may soon let Chrome users share saved passwords with others. The company has already added a “Share” button to the browser’s built-in password management menu in the experimental channel. The button currently doesn’t work, but it hints at ongoing works behind the scenes.
Google has been toying with the idea of letting users share their saved passwords in Chrome for more than a year now. The feature was first spotted in development in February of last year, with a non-functional “Send password” option appearing alongside Copy, Edit, and Remove options in the overflow menu for saved passwords.
The user interface (UI) of Chrome’s built-in password manager has since changed as the company added new features such as Notes. But the new Share button will seemingly serve the same purpose. Spotted by Twitter user @Leopeva64, it appears on the right end of the bottom row, with Edit and Delete buttons sitting on the left side.
Considering that this feature has been in development for well over a year, it’s unclear when Google will finally roll it out to users. There’s no telling if the company has finished the work or if it still has plenty to do. The tech biggie may be evaluating the privacy risks associated with this feature. It may not push the ability to share passwords in Chrome until it puts proper measures in place to prevent its misuse. We will let you know when we have more information.
There will be an option to "share" passwords on Chrome's new password management page, Google has already added the new button but it still doesn't work:https://t.co/nJiqSt2f3Q
.https://t.co/Mh776H9KAX pic.twitter.com/66DUSGLtkR— Leopeva64 (@Leopeva64) June 27, 2023
Google is working hard to improve its password manager
This discovery comes amid Google’s latest push to improve its password manager. The tool that comes built into its Chrome browser isn’t the most feature-rich option out there and trails behind some of the competing services. But the company has been rapidly adding new features to it in recent months. Earlier this month, Google announced biometric authentication support and a dedicated home for the tool on the desktop version of Chrome.
The ability to share saved passwords is another feature found in some password managing services. Google is now catching up to them, or at least on the way to catching up to some rivals. Hopefully, the company won’t take much longer to bring this feature to users, both on the desktop and mobile apps. If you use Google Chrome for browsing the internet on your Android device, you can click the button below to download the latest version of the app from the Play Store.