Google announced earlier this year that, in a bid to make families stay safe and find the right balance with technology, it will be enabling the password-sharing feature via its own Password Manager so one can easily share their passwords with their loved ones. The feature is now rolling out as a part of a new Google Play Services update.
Google announced the roll out of password-sharing in Google Password Manager as part of its May 2024 Google Play Services update (v24.20) via a support page. “With this new feature, you can now securely share your passwords with your family group in Google Password Manager. When you share a password, your family members will receive a copy of it in their Google Password Manager, ready to be used,” read the announcement.
Note that the ability to share passwords via Google Password Manager is only available for family accounts. This means you cannot share your passwords with anyone outside the family group, even if they have a Google account. One can share usernames and passwords for a particular website or service directly from Password Manager.
“Whether two members of a family are coordinating with daycare through a single account, or a child is letting a parent access their school assignments, sharing passwords securely has never been easier,” read the announcement post from Google back in February this year.
Meanwhile, Google is also prepping new security-centric features that will rollout later this year to devices running Android 10+. For instance, in case your device gets stolen, Google will be introducing “Theft Detection Lock” in Android for maintaining data security. Theft Detection Lock is a new feature that uses Google AI to sense if someone snatches your phone from your hand and tries to run, bike or drive away. If a common motion associated with theft is detected, your phone screen quickly locks – which helps keep thieves from easily accessing your data.