Google Chrome Can Now Warn If Passwords Have Been Compromised

Google has announced a new security feature for Chrome browser that can warn users if their passwords have been compromised.

Called Password Checkup, this new tool is integrated into the Chrome password manager, and it comes with three major features.

First of all, it can detect if your saved passwords have been compromised following a third-party service breach. If this is the case, Password Checkup can let you know, so you can change the password before any harm is done.

Additionally, Password Checkup can determine if the same passwords are being reused across multiple websites. If a breach happens and your password is compromised, an attacker having the password can thus get access to more than just one service, eventually exposing more of your personal data.

And last, the new feature can recommend what passwords need to be strengthened in order to make sure compromising accounts is more difficult for malicious actors.

More security features coming later this year

Google says that later this year, it’ll also integrate functionality of the Password Checkup extension that the company launched earlier this year.

“The Password Checkup is built from our Chrome extension launched earlier this year, which alerts you if your username or password has been compromised in a third-party data breach,” Google says.

“The extension has been downloaded more than 1 million times, with nearly half of those users receiving a warning for a compromised password. Later this year, we’ll build Password Checkup technology directly into Chrome for everyone—so you get real time protection as you type your password without needing to install a separate extension.”

Google Chrome is currently the world’s number one browser on both desktop and mobile. On the desktop, for example, Google Chrome runs on nearly 70 percent of the devices out there, regardless of the operating system powering them.