Google to Build Password Checkup into Chrome 78

Months after releasing it as an extension, Google revealed that it will simply build its Password Checkup into the Chrome browser.

As you may recall, Google released the Password Checkup add-in back in February, providing Chrome users with a way to ensure that none of their online accounts were involved in known credential leaks.

“We help keep your Google Account safe by proactively detecting and responding to security threats. But we want to provide you with the same data breach protections for your accounts, beyond just Google apps and sites,” the firm explained at the time. “This is where the new Password Checkup Chrome extension can help. If we detect that a username and password on a site you use is one of over 4 billion credentials that we know have been compromised, the extension will trigger an automatic warning and suggest that you change your password.”

I’ve been using the Password Checkup extension ever since. But according to a new check-in in the Chromium Bug Tracker, first spotted by 9to5Google, this functionality will be built right into a future version of Chrome. There are a few advantages to this approach, the most obvious being that it will simply be available by default and won’t require users to know about, find, and install an extension.

If everything goes well, Password Checkup functionality will be built into Chrome starting with version 78, which is scheduled for release in late October.