While Google made news over a myriad of other topics during the course of the company’s I/O, the company elected to proceed with a far more quiet overhaul of one of its most important services: password management.
That overhaul comes in the form of Smart Lock; Google’s newly revamped password management service which now incorporates the company’s Chrome browser.
Smart Lock previously existed as an Android service which allowed users to unlock an Android phone in either a trusted environment (such as one’s home) or through a trusted bluetooth device.
Up until now, Chrome has used its own built password management system which keeps credentials stored within the browser – with the addition of Smart Lock, Google has now enabled password management from the web.
Smart Lock, beyond saving account passwords in Chrome, now extends into certain Android apps; Smart Lock users can now save app passwords (as is available through the LinkedIn app, presently) for convenient storage.
Additionally, Smart Lock enables users to skip an app’s login screen entirely, should they so choose; while logging in to an app on a new device, users can press a blue bar designating their Google account at the bottom of the app and immediately be redirected to the main interface of the app while sign-in proceeds in the background.
While Smart Lock will have to compete with the likes of LastPass, Dashlane and 1Password in the hearts and minds of users, the service is – in comparison – completely free to use.
While many might balk at the idea of using a Google account as a ‘master key’, the service – which is backed up by Google’s own two-factor authentification – could be one of the most secure yet.
Smart Lock is available on both Android and Google through accessing passwords.google.com, and presently does not work on iOS.
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