# 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.
- Title: Android will move your passwords for you · Ars Technica
- Summary: 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…
- Keywords: android, passwords, security, google, passkeys, technology, science, move, Ars Technica
- Source: Ars Technica — https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/09/android-can-now-securely-migrate-your-logins-between-password-managers
- Published: 2026-09-10T18:41:09+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: android, passwords, security, google, passkeys, technology, science
## 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
## Key takeaway

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.