Here's the thing. The single worst part of switching password managers has always been the CSV export: a plaintext file containing every login you own, sitting on your filesystem, waiting to be emailed to the wrong person or left in a Downloads folder forever. Google just shipped a fix.
Android's new password migration system moves credentials entirely on-device. Users open the password manager they want to switch to, trigger an import, and Android coordinates the transfer between both apps — no intermediate file, no manual re-entry. The system verifies your identity, you confirm the move in the new app, and it's done.
Critically, the transfer covers passkeys as well as traditional passwords. That matters because passkeys are increasingly the default login method across major services, and having to re-enroll them after a manager switch was a real friction point that quietly kept users locked into whatever app they started with.
The feature is built into Google Play Services, which means it requires no OS update and works on any Android device running Android 8.0 Oreo or higher. Given that Play Services support extends back to Android 7.0 Nougat, Google says this covers virtually every operational Google-certified Android device in the world. The rollout is already live.
Currently supported apps: Google Password Manager (built into Android), 1Password, Bitwarden, and Dashlane. All four have implemented the underlying Credential Transfer API. Google says more apps will add support but offered no timeline. If your manager of choice isn't on the list yet, you're still stuck with the old CSV export path — which, for the record, still exists and still produces an unencrypted file.
The export-via-CSV option remaining in place is a small but telling detail: the new system is opt-in infrastructure, not a mandate. Managers that haven't implemented the API keep the old behavior by default.
---
The Credential Transfer API is exactly the kind of unglamorous plumbing that makes markets work. When switching costs drop, competition increases — users who've been tolerating a mediocre password manager because migration felt painful now have one fewer excuse to stay. That's good for the ecosystem and, more concretely, good for security: people who actually switch to a better tool are less likely to reuse weak passwords or skip passkey adoption entirely.
The demo is not the product, but in this case the product shipped. Four major managers on day one, on-device processing, no new app required. The changelog is short and the upside is real.