Easily Switch Password Managers on Android

Android just made it much easier to switch password managers—here's how it works Credit: Lucas Gouveia / How-To Geek Published Sep 10, 2026, 1:40 PM EDT Jon is a seasoned journalist who has written definitive coverage of consumer tech at publications like Engadget, Android Authority, and BetaKit. He's an expert on making tech accessible ranging from mobile and PCs to emerging platforms like wearables. When he's not writing, he's going on adventures with ihis family and is an avid photographer. Sign in to your How-To Geek account It can be painful to change password managers on your phone, not to mention insecure — you might have to download files that expose your passwords in plain text, and recreate all your passkeys. Google now claims to have fixed this with a new "transfer experience" that helps you switch password managers on Android, including passkeys. The revamped approach only requires that you launch your new password manager and choose to import or copy passwords and passkeys. Android then takes over, identifying any compatible managers and letting you choose the app to import from. Once you tap Continue, Android will migrate the info in "just a few seconds," according to Google. Android password manager switch tool.Credit: Google The process requires some form of screen lock, and you might need to use your old phone's screen lock (or a Google Password Manager PIN) to carry them over. Don't worry about duplicates, though, as the transfer will skip identical passwords. You can already use the new tool with Google Password Manager, 1Password, Bitwarden Password Manager, and Dashlane. There will be "more partners to follow," Google says. Why do I want a password manager on Android? It's all too easy to guess passwords It's not always easy to remember passwords for a wide range of sites and services. That makes it all too tempting to use (and reuse) simple passwords that are easy to discover using brute-force cracking tools, or even educated guesses. Password managers can not only remember those passwords for you in an encrypted format, but generate complex examples that would be difficult to discover even with an automated cracker. You only have to remember a master password. This can be particularly helpful if you're switching phones, as you won't have to either sign in to all your apps or trust your backups. Passkeys can make it even harder to breach your accounts by requiring that you grant permission without using a password, such as by tapping a notification or using your phone's fingerprint reader. That makes it much harder for a distant intruder to get in, even if a passkey is stored in the cloud — they might even need physical access to your phone. You won't likely need to switch password managers often, but Google's new transfer method theoretically encourages using one. You can pick whichever manager suits you best, knowing that you can always jump to another if your tastes (or company requirements) change.