Google is experimenting with a new feature called 'Touch to Fill', which will streamline the process of logging into websites and eliminate the need to type passwords and usernames altogether.
As Techdows reports, when you touch the username field, you'll be presented with a list of stored logins for that particular site. Just tap the one you want to use, and the browser will enter the username and password automatically.
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The option has only been spotted in Chrome for Android so far, but hopefully it will also become available for iOS and iPadOS soon as well.
If you're using Chrome Beta for Android, you may find that Touch to Fill is already up and running. If you'd rather stick with the release version of Chrome, you can try it early by activating the appropriate flag (a switch for toggling experimental features). Enter chrome://flags in the address bar and search for 'touch-to-fill'. Tap the drop-down menu that appears and select 'Enabled' from the list of available options.
The future of passwords
We recently reported that Chrome will soon allow you directly manage and edit stored passwords, much like a conventional password manager. Last year, Google also introduced a tool that alerts you if one of your stored logins has been included in a recent data breach.
Together these options and tools point to a future version of Chrome that will help secure your logins without the need for a third-party password manager at all.
We'll be interested to see whether Google implements a feature that will allow you to log into other apps outside the browser, like Mozilla's Firefox Lockwise. If so, the days of the standalone password manager could be numbered.
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