(Credit: Google)
Google's Chrome browser will soon be able to replace compromised passwords with a strong alternative, all in one click.
The feature builds on Google Password Manager, which can save and autofill logins to the sites you visit. Since 2019, that password manager has included a checkup tool that notifies you if a saved password shows up in a data breach.
The only problem is that changing the compromised password can be a hassle, requiring you to visit each site and manually change it. But Google's browser can now help you streamline the password-replacement process.
The feature kicks in when you visit an affected site on Chrome and go to sign in, Google announced at its I/O developer conference this week.
"When Chrome detects a password has been compromised, the user will get a suggestion to change it, and with permission, Chrome will automatically update the password on the site, behind the scenes,” says Paul Kinlan, lead for Chrome Developer Relations.
This promises to eliminate some of the headaches with password management, although it’ll take some time for Google to roll out the feature. "We're going to start with a subset of websites in 2025,” Kinlan says. “And we’re going to expand this to more websites in the future.”
Third-party companies will need to add computer code to their websites to enable the password replacement. So, it might not appear on every website.
For more, check out our rundown of everything Google announced at I/O day one.