Android will move your passwords for you

Switching password managers on Android no longer means retyping every login or dumping them into a plain text file.

Sep 10, 2026

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Android will move your passwords for you

Switching password managers on Android no longer means retyping every login or dumping them into a plain text file.

In brief

Switching password managers on Android no longer means retyping every login or dumping them into a plain text file. If you're on Android 8.0 or newer and moving between Google Password Manager, 1Password, Bitwarden, or Dashlane, start the import from the new app and skip the CSV entirely. Originally reported by Ars…

Switching managers used to hurt

Long passwords are impossible to remember, so managers handle them. But moving to a different one meant retyping every login by hand.

“remembering all those strings of numbers, letters, and special characters has become nearly impossible”

Start in the new app

The whole transfer runs on your phone, so both apps need to be installed and synced. Look for the import option in the manager you're moving to.

Import is smart, export is not

Google Password Manager's import hooks into the new system, but its export still spits out an unencrypted CSV. Four apps support it: Google, 1Password, Bitwarden, and Dashlane.

No risky text files

Android verifies your identity, then asks you to confirm the move in the new manager. Passwords and passkeys both travel, and even big vaults finish fast.

“Android can move both passwords and passkeys without creating any risky text files.”

Works on almost every phone

It ships through Google Play Services, not an OS update, and covers Android 8.0 Oreo and up. That's virtually every Google-certified Android device in use.

Everyone else still waits

Support depends on each app adopting the Credential Transfer API. Google says more managers are coming but won't say when, so other apps mean manual entry or a CSV.

“does not offer a timeline”

The one thing

If you're on Android 8.0 or newer and moving between Google Password Manager, 1Password, Bitwarden, or Dashlane, start the import from the new app and skip the CSV entirely.

Read the original on Ars Technica

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