Google is rolling out a new feature for its Chrome Web browser that will inform users if the passwords they enter for the sites they are visiting has been compromised in a major, known data breach.
Google first introduced this technology in early 2019 as the Password Checkup extension. In October 2019, it became a part of the Password Checkup in your Google Account, where you can conduct a scan of your saved passwords anytime. It has evolved to offer warnings as you browse the web in Chrome.
While this is a useful feature, and the integration with the Chrome browser makes it seamless, one important point that most coverage ignores or downplays is that the browser can only check passwords that the user is storing in their Google account as part of Chrome's built-in Password Manager. If you're using a separte password manager (e.g., LastPass, 1Password), Chrome's Password Checkup feature will not be able to access your stored passwords to check them.
Similarly, if you have set up a passphrase to encrypt the passwords stored in your Google account (recommended) the Password Checkup feture cannot acces them to check them.
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