Chrome is about to get a great new security tool – but only if you use Android

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The Android version of Chrome is catching up with the desktop edition, gaining a security feature that helps to ensure that your passwords are safe.

The browser has long featured a password manager that is used to store the login details for the sites you visit. This saves you from having to constantly type in usernames and passwords, but the latest feature to be added helps to increase security.

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Having your web browser save your passwords for you is not only a great time-saver, it also discourages people from doing things like writing down credentials on sticky notes attached to the side of the monitor. But it doesn't mean that your passwords will remain secure – data breaches occur, and if a website you use is hacked, your password may be revealed.

Android user are now gaining two ways to check whether their passwords have been involved in a breach via Check Passwords and in the Safety Check feature. These manual checks work in very much the same way as on the desktop, and serve as a handy means of finding out whether you need to change your passwords.

Password lockdown

It will take a little while for this security feature to filter its way down from the Canary build of Chrome, down to the beta version and finally to the main, stable build. But that doesn't mean that you have to wait to try it out! All you need to do is install the Canary build of Chrome, which you can download from Google Play.

With Chrome Canary installed, fire it up, and follow these steps:

Pay a visit to chrome://flags
Search for Bulk password check
Select Enabled from the drop-down menu
You can also enable the Safety Check on Android setting
Restart Chrome

If you now look in the Password section of Settings, you will see a new Check passwords option as well as the new ability to check for password breaches in the Safety Check section.

Via Techdows

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Sofia is a tech journalist who's been writing about software, hardware and the web for nearly 25 years – but still looks as youthful as ever! After years writing for magazines, her life moved online and remains fueled by technology, music and nature.

Having written for websites and magazines since 2000, producing a wide range of reviews, guides, tutorials, brochures, newsletters and more, she continues to write for diverse audiences, from computing newbies to advanced users and business clients. Always willing to try something new, she loves sharing new discoveries with others.

Sofia lives and breathes Windows, Android, iOS, macOS and just about anything with a power button, but her particular areas of interest include security, tweaking and privacy. Her other loves include walking, music, her two Malamutes and, of course, her wife and daughter.

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