Google is set to enable a new feature in Chrome for Android that will allow mobile users to synchronise passwords between their desktop Chrome installation and their Android device, adding a feature that has been available in Chrome for iOS for quite a while.
The feature, spotted by Chrome tinkerer François Beaufort on the Chromium Code Review website, was discussed by Chrome’s development team a little more than a week ago, and has already been committed to the Chromium code base.
Google already syncs bookmarks and other data, but until recently, passwords were out of bounds.
The page notes: “Android does not support password sync, enable password sync for clients which have migrated to using Keystore. Currently, passwords will start syncing only when sync-keystore-encryption flag is specified on the command line.”
As Beaufort notes, users can enable the flag “Sync keystore encryption” in chrome://flags inside their browser to prepare for the feature. However, as the flag will allow the app to modify sync data, it could unintentionally corrupt or change information, so it’s worth waiting until Google introduces it and spells out the necessary steps.
Given the fact that the code has been committed, we could see Google add the feature to Chrome Beta for Android, which just yesterday saw an update that finally allowed users to easily toggle WebGL support and render 3D graphics and animations.
Once the feature has been tested and approved, it would then be moved across to the stable version, which the majority of Android device owners will run on their smartphone or tablet.
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