Google Chrome’s password manager adds biometric unlocking on desktop

It’s also getting easier to import your passwords from another manager.

Google Chrome’s password manager will soon support biometric authentication on PCs and Macs. The feature, which was previously only available on mobile, uses facial recognition or your fingerprint to verify your identity before Chrome automatically fills your passwords.

This is ideal if you share a computer with someone else and don’t want Chrome to autofill your account passwords for anyone but yourself. You’ll still need a PC or Mac that comes with a fingerprint sensor or supports facial recognition to actually take advantage of the feature, though. Google says this feature is “coming soon” on desktop.

Google also announced a few other updates to Chrome’s password manager, including a way to add notes alongside your stored passwords as well as the ability to easily import your passwords from another manager. Instead of enabling a flag like you had to do previously, you can now upload a CSV file with your account details from another password manager through Chrome’s settings menu.

Additionally, there’s now a dedicated space for the password manager in the desktop version of Chrome that you can access by clicking the new Password Manager option from the Chrome menu or by selecting Manage passwords when the prompt for Chrome to autofill your password appears. You can now create a desktop shortcut that leads straight to Chrome’s password manager, too.

Lastly, Google is making some small updates to Chrome’s password manager on iOS as well. That includes “a larger, more tappable prompt to autofill your passwords” along with a new feature within its Password Checkup tool on iOS that flags weak and reused passwords.

As Google looks to further compete with other password management apps like 1Password and Bitwarden, it has also been doubling down on passkeys, a more secure, passwordless way to sign in to your accounts. After rolling out passkey support to Chrome late last year, Google has since started letting users sign in to their Google accounts with passkeys. It also started testing passkeys with Google Workspace and Cloud accounts earlier this month.