Android Now Lets You Transfer Passwords and Passkeys Between Apps — Here’s How

Switching password managers on Android just got a lot less painful. Google rolled out native Android password manager transfer on September 10, 2026, so your passwords and passkeys move to a new app automatically. No CSV files, no re-adding every login by hand, no losing your passkeys in the process.

• Rollout date: September 10, 2026, confirmed by Google
• Who it’s for: Any Android user on Android 8 or later
• Apps supported so far: Google Password Manager, 1Password, Bitwarden, and Dashlane
• What moves: Both saved passwords and passkeys, not just one or the other
• Cost: Free, it’s a built-in Android system feature

What Android Password Manager Transfer Actually Changes

Until now, moving between password apps meant exporting a plain-text CSV file and importing it somewhere else. That file sat on your phone, unencrypted, until you deleted it. Passkeys couldn’t even make that trip, so you had to recreate them one site at a time.

Android password manager transfer skips the file entirely. The operating system now talks directly to whichever credential app you’re opening, checks what else is installed on your phone, and offers to pull your logins straight across. You approve the transfer once, and it’s done.

The plumbing behind this is a new system component Google calls the Credential Manager Transfer API. It’s the same framework that already handles autofill and passkey creation on Android, extended so two separate apps can hand off an entire vault in one authorized step. Third-party developers can hook into it without Google’s involvement, which is why four companies already support it on day one.

How to Move Your Passwords and Passkeys to a New App

The process runs from inside the app you’re switching to, not the one you’re leaving. That’s a small but important detail if you’re used to hunting for an export button in your old app.

Here’s the actual flow on a supported phone:

• Install the new password manager (Bitwarden, 1Password, Dashlane, or Google Password Manager)
• Open it and choose the “import from another app” option
• Pick your current manager from the list Android shows you
• Review the passwords and passkeys, then approve the transfer

Once you tap confirm, Android handles the handoff in the background. You don’t touch a file at any point.

Which Password Managers Support It Right Now

Four apps work with the new system at launch, and Google says more are on the way through its open Credential Manager Transfer API. Here’s how the current lineup compares.

Why Ditching the CSV Export Was Overdue

A CSV full of plain-text passwords sitting in your downloads folder was always a soft target. Anyone with brief access to your phone, or any app with sloppy file permissions, could read it. Deleting it afterward helped, but plenty of people forgot that step.

Security researchers have flagged exactly this kind of exposure for years, and it’s the same instinct behind Chrome’s recent zero-day patch, where an unpatched hole quietly put saved credentials at risk. Removing the CSV step doesn’t fix every password risk on your phone, but it closes one that was entirely avoidable.

It also fixes a problem unique to passkeys. Unlike a password, a passkey is tied to the device and app that created it, so there was never a clean way to “export” one to a plain-text file in the first place. That’s why switching managers used to mean manually re-registering a passkey on every single site, one login screen at a time.

What This Means If You’re Comparing Password Managers

The biggest shift here isn’t the transfer tool itself, it’s what it removes: the fear of getting locked in. Before this, trying out a new password manager meant a real risk of losing passkeys or making a mistake mid-export.

Now switching is closer to reversible. If Bitwarden’s free tier looks better than what you’re using, or you want 1Password’s shared family vaults, you can try it without a two-hour migration project. It’s a quieter change than Android’s September feature drop, but it’s one you’ll actually feel the next time you set up a phone.

It should also put a bit of pressure on managers that haven’t signed on yet. Any app that skips the Credential Manager Transfer API now looks like it’s making an exit deliberately difficult, which is a bad look when three major competitors already support an easy way out.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I lose my passkeys when I switch password managers on Android?

No. The new transfer tool moves passkeys along with regular passwords, which wasn’t possible with the old CSV export method. You shouldn’t need to recreate passkeys on any site after switching.

Which apps support Android password manager transfer today?

Google Password Manager, Bitwarden, 1Password, and Dashlane all support it at launch. Google says additional apps can join through its Credential Manager Transfer API, so expect the list to grow.

What Android version do I need?

The feature works on any device running Android 8 or newer, according to Google. You don’t need the latest Android release for it to show up.

Can I still export a CSV file if I want to?

Most apps still offer manual export for backups or moving to non-Android platforms. The new tool is simply the default, safer path when you’re switching between two apps on the same phone.

Is the new transfer method actually more secure than a CSV file?

Yes. The transfer happens through an encrypted, app-to-app handoff instead of a plain-text file sitting on your storage. There’s no intermediate file for malware or a nosy app to grab.

This is one of those updates that won’t make headlines for long, but it fixes a genuinely annoying problem that’s been sitting there for years. If you’ve been putting off trying Bitwarden or 1Password because switching felt like a hassle, that excuse is gone now, and it’s worth the ten minutes to actually do it.