Google Assistant-powered password checking on Android is finally official. The company has listed the feature in the change system for the Google system updates from May 2022. It rolls out with Google Play Services v22.18 released on Monday, May 23rd. Password Checker allows Assistant to help you quickly change passwords that were found compromised or stolen during a data breach.
Google originally announced Password Checkup for Chrome for Android last May. The company had said that the simplified password change experience on Chrome will be gradually rolled out to users over the next few months. However, it took Google a whole year to make the feature officially available. It started rolling out to users widely earlier this month. Now, with Google Play Services v22.18, password checking on Android should be available globally.
In the words of Google: “Password checking on Android lets users check their stored credentials for security vulnerabilities and provides a list of actions to improve online hygiene”. A feature built into Chrome makes it easy and simple to change stolen passwords. Chrome alerts you if you sign in to a site with a password that was compromised in a data breach. You can then take the help of Google Assistant to automatically change the compromised password with a few taps. You do not have to manually go to the page from where you can change the password and do it all yourself.
While the assistant can handle the entire process, you can take responsibility at any time. For example, you can either use the Chrome suggested password or create your own. Note, however, that password checking on Android does not support automatic password change for all sites. However, Google will continue to expand the list over time.
May 2022 Google system updates bring several new features
In addition to finally rolling out Password Checkup on Android, the Google system updates from May 2022 also bring some more new features (via). Most notably, Nearby Share now makes it incredibly convenient to share files between your devices. With Google Play Services v22.15 updated earlier this month, sharing files between two Android devices logged in with the same Google Account will not require authentication. This change was discovered last month and is now rolling out to users.
Google has also streamlined the process of transferring Google Accounts during device setup. It now asks users to enable location services when required. All of these Android system changes should be available to everyone within a few days.
