If youre still trying to remember all of your passwords and then type em into sites by hand, let me tell you: Youre doing it wrong.With all the credentials we have to keep track of these days, theres just no way the human brain can handle the task of storing the specifics at least, not if youre using complex, unique passwords that arent repeated (or almost repeated, even) from one site to the next. Thats where a password manager comes into play: It securely stores all your sign-in info for you and then fills it in as needed.While theres a case to be made for leaning on a dedicated app for that purpose (for reasons well discuss further in a moment), Google has its own password management system built right into Chrome and also now integrated directly into Android, at the operating system level. And its far better to rely on that than to use nothing at all.Google Password Manager 101First things first: You shouldnt have to do anything to turn the Google Password Manager on. The system, once considered part of Googles Smart Lock feature, works across Android, iOS, ChromeOS, and any other desktop platform where youre signed into Chrome and its typically activated by default in all of those places.Youll see the Password Managers prompts for credential-saving pop up anytime you enter your username and password into a site within the Chrome browser. The service will also offer to create complex new passwords for you when youre signing up for something new. And whenever you return to a site where your credentials have been stored, Smart Lock will automatically fill them in for you or, when more than one sign-in is associated with a single site, itll provide you with the option to pick the account you want to use.The system is able to sign you into Android apps automatically, too, though it works somewhat sporadically and you never quite know when itll be present. To use Google Password Manager in that way, youll need to search your Android devices system settings for autofill, then:Tap Autofill service from Google, tap that same option once more, and confirm that the system is on and active.Return to that same settings search for autofill, tap Preferred service, and ensure that Google is both active and set to be the preferred service on that screen.Google Password Manager can also sign you into both websites and apps across iOS, though on that front, youll need to manually enable the system by visiting the Passwords section of the iOS Settings app, selecting Autofill followed by Passwords and Chrome, and then turning on the Autofill option within that area.Adjusting your Password Manager setupIf you ever want to look through and edit your stored passwords or adjust your Google Password Manager settings, the easiest thing is to sign into the Google Password Manager web interface at passwords.google.com in any web browser, on any device youre using.There, you can view, edit, or delete any of your saved passwords as well as see and act on any alerts regarding possible security issues with your credentials.You can also adjust your Google Password Manager preferences by clicking the gear icon in the upper-right corner of that page. Its worth peeking in there once in a while, as you may find some options that are off by default and advisable to activate like proactive alerts anytime a password youve saved is found to be compromised and on-device encryption for extra protection of any new passwords you save along the way.Thats also where you can go to export all of your passwords for use in another service, if such a need ever arises.The Google Password Manager web settings section has a host of important options some of which are disabled by default.JR Raphael / IDGSpeaking of which, if you do at some point decide to use a standalone password manager and well dive into that subject further next youll want to be sure to disable the Offer to save passwords and Auto sign-in options here to effectively turn Google Password Manager off and keep yourself from seeing confusingly overlapping prompts every time you try to sign in somewhere.Youll also want to revisit the related settings on any Android and/or iOS devices youre using to be sure the new password manager is set to take the place of Google Password Manager in all the appropriate areas.Google Password Manager vs. the competitionSo why is it more advisable to use a dedicated password manager instead of Google Password Manager? Well, a few reasons:First, dedicated password managers provide broader and more consistent support for storing and filling in passwords across the full spectrum of apps on both your phone and your computer something most of us need to do quite regularly, especially in a work context. You dont want to have to go manually look up a password and then copy and paste it over every time you sign into something outside of your browser, and with Google Password Manager, thats frequently what you end up having to do.Beyond that, dedicated password managers work seamlessly in any browser youre using, on any device, instead of being closely connected only to Chrome.They also tend to come with stronger and more explicit security assurances, and they often offer additional features such as the ability to share your passwords with team members or even external clients (with or without allowing the person to actually see the password in question). They frequently include other useful elements beyond just basic password storage, too, including the ability to securely store different types of notes and documents.I maintain a collection of recommendations for the best password manager on Android, and my top choice right now is 1Password which costs $36 a year for an individual subscription, $60 a year for a family membership that includes up to five people, $239-a-year Teams Starter Pack that allows up to 10 company users, or $96 per company user per year. And while my recommendation is technically Android-specific, I take into account the experience the service offers across all platforms, since most of us work across multiple device types. 1Password works equally well on the desktop front as well as on iOS.If you arent going to take the time to mess with a dedicated password manager, though, Googles built-in system is absolutely the next best thing. And now you know exactly how to use it.This article was originally published in May 2020 and updated in November 2024.