Password creation on your Google Pixel and other devices is an interesting process. The trick is to add a special character or number to strengthen your unique code. If you used your birthday or similar dates to protect your account, check that it’s strong enough and update it, especially if you share the same password across different accounts.
Google’s Password Checkup tool in its Password Manager analyzes all accounts. It scans the ones you logged in to with your email address and provides a report of vulnerabilities you need to address. Here’s how to use the tool to protect your accounts.
What is Google Password Checkup?
Password Checkup is a tool within Google’s Password Manager. The Manager acts as a vault that stores passwords for every account you log in to with your Google account. Checkup assesses the strength of your saved passwords.
When you log in to an account, Password Checkup compares the encrypted version of your saved passwords against an online database of breaches and exposed passwords. It alerts you to potential risks and prompts you to change your password. You can also run a checkup yourself at any time.
Checkup can detect vulnerabilities in your accounts. It shows you the accounts where you used the same passwords, exposed passwords in a data breach, and used weak passwords. It provides a button for changing them, although it isn’t compulsory. Still, take your time and do it to avoid losing your account to hackers.
You can delete compromised passwords without affecting an account. Google only erases the password from the manager, and you can no longer autofill it. You’ll type it yourself when you log in.
How to use Google Password Checkup on Android phones and tablets
Google built the Password Checkup tool into the Password Manager, which you can access via a web browser. It doesn’t have a mobile app, but Android devices can still access it via the settings menu. The tool only provides password assessment for the account you’re signed in to. If you have another Google account, switch to it to receive an analysis of its saved passwords.
If your phone runs a custom Android version, replace your autofill service with Google Autofill. Otherwise, you can’t use Checkup in your settings menu. In this guide, we replace Samsung Pass with Google Autofill.
Use Google Password Checkup in the Android settings menu
To use the tool in your Android device’s settings menu, go to Settings > Google > Autofill and tap Autofill with Google. You’re taken to the Autofill with Google screen. If Google isn’t your default autofill service, tap Continue and turn on the Use Autofill with Google toggle switch.
When Google is set as your default autofill service, tap Google password Manager to go to the Password Manager screen. Then, tap Password Checkup. After the tool checks your saved passwords, tap the compromised, reused, or weak buttons to expand a drop-down list of accounts. When you tap Change password, Google redirects you to the website hosting your account.
You’ll find other password management options by tapping the three-dot icon next to an account. Choose from the following password management options:
- View shows you the password, which you can copy to your phone’s clipboard.
- Edit helps you make corrections if you saved an incorrect password. This option doesn’t change the original password for the account.
- Dismisswarning removes an account from any of the sections. It doesn’t change the security status.
- Delete password erases a password from Google Autofill, not your account on the original website.
How to use Google Password Checkup on computers
You’ll need a web browser to use Google Password Checkup. The steps are similar when you use your phone’s browser. While you can access it using any browser, autofill and similar features don’t work on them. The feature is tied to Google Chrome.
To check your passwords, open your preferred browser and visit passwords.google.com. On the Password Manager web page, click Go to Password Checkup. On the Password Checkup screen, click Check Passwords. If you use two-factor authentication, verify your account.
Password Checkup shows whether you have compromised, similar, or weak passwords. Click a category to expand the drop-down list and view the accounts. Click the three-dot button beside an account to view, delete, or update a saved password. For at-risk accounts, click Change password under an account to go to the account’s official website in a new tab and fix the issue.
How to access your passwords in Google Chrome
They’re pretty easy to manage once you know where to look
Google’s password management features may be a bad idea
Google’s password checkup tool keeps your account protected at all times. However, it’s risky to entrust your passwords to virtual tools. It may use encryption, but a data breach isn’t impossible. Plus, it relies on Google Chrome. If you switch to another browser, you can’t use them fully. There are other reasons why you shouldn’t trust the password manager. But the bottom line is that writing down your passwords or memorizing them may be the best solution, though manual and tasking.
