More evidence suggests Google could be building its own Password Manager app

If you managed to sit through Google I/O 2021 in its entirety, you likely noticed just how much focus Google is dedicated to privacy. This includes things like your passwords, as there are some nifty new tools coming to Android in an effort to keep your accounts secured.

But in the latest Chromium Gerrit (via Chrome Story), a new flag has appeared suggesting that Google is also working on a “Unified Password Manager” for Chrome. The flag’s description reads as such:

Unified Password Manager: Uses Google Mobile Services to store and retrieve passwords. Warning: Highly experimental. May lead to loss of passwords and impact performance.

With this new password manager, it goes to show just how serious Google is taking password protection for its users. By integrating Google Mobile Services, there could be better interactions between your Android phone and Google Chrome on a tablet or computer.

It’s also leading to speculation that Google could be working on a first-party dedicated password manager app for Android. The company has already added quite a few new features to the service, but accessing your passwords is a bit wonky. Plus, if you’re using two-factor authentication (and you should be), you are still currently required to use another app like Google Authenticator or Authy.

• Did Google just kill third-party password managers?

If by some miracle Google could combine everything into a single app, it would be quite a feat and could actually put other password managers to shame. By Google building its own app, it could encourage users to get more serious about keeping their passwords protected. Chrome and Android already do a pretty good job at providing access to passwords when you need them, along with easy account creation. But the problem remains that you still have to dive into the Settings app in order to access those at will, which is just not a great experience overall.