One of the persistent frustrations with passkeys has been how closely they are tied to the device or account where you originally set them up. If you change phones, switch password managers, or move between ecosystems, you often have to re-register every passkey at each site manually. A recent discovery suggests Google Password Manager on Android may be preparing a more convenient solution for moving passkeys between apps and devices.
Android Authority recently uncovered a hidden interface inside Google Password Manager that appears to add import and export support for passkeys. The discovery shows that the password settings area is being extended to cover passkeys as well, with an interface that functions beyond a mere visual placeholder. According to the report, the interface is not yet available to the general public, but it demonstrates a working flow that could let users transfer passkeys to another password manager on Android.
What Google Password Manager Passkeys Import and Export Solves
At present, passkeys synchronize well among your own devices when you stay within the same account and platform. The difficulty arises when you want to move to a different password manager or a different ecosystem entirely. For example, switching from Google Password Manager to Bitwarden, iCloud Keychain, or another service usually requires deleting each passkey and re-registering on every site where you used a passkey. That is time-consuming and impractical for anyone with dozens or hundreds of passkeys.
The import/export capability aims to address that pain point with a single, unified flow. When implemented, the feature would let you open a supported password manager on Android and receive a prompt to transfer your passkeys. In reported tests, transfers using the new interface worked with Bitwarden, showing that the mechanism can move credentials between apps. The process depends on the Credential Exchange Protocol (CXP), a FIDO Alliance standard designed to securely transfer passkeys between applications while preserving the cryptographic protections that make passkeys safer than traditional passwords.
Import and export support would simplify migrating between services or creating backups without forcing users to re-enroll at each service that accepts a passkey. It would also reduce friction for people who change devices frequently, maintain separate personal and work password managers, or want to consolidate credentials under a single manager. For organizations or individuals looking to adopt passkeys more broadly, easier portability could help accelerate adoption.
Security is a key consideration for any export capability. The reported implementation includes safeguards: Google would reportedly block exports to apps that do not meet defined security standards. When such a block occurs, a message like “Export blocked for your protection” would appear, preventing insecure transfers. This tight control helps ensure that passkeys are not moved to untrusted or insecure apps, preserving the integrity of the underlying authentication material.
Other companies have already implemented passkey portability: Apple introduced passkey portability features in recent iOS and macOS releases, and several third-party password managers such as Bitwarden and 1Password support passkey import and export. Google has supported the CXP standard for some time, but a native, user-facing export/import flow on Android could broaden availability and offer a consistent experience across Android password managers. Once Google Password Manager enables the feature publicly, other Android password managers that support passkeys—like device-specific solutions—could potentially tap into the same mechanism to streamline cross-manager transfers.
Google has been promoting passkeys as the preferred option for signing in to personal Google accounts, pushing toward a passwordless future. Adding import/export support to Google Password Manager would be a logical next step in that strategy, making passkeys more flexible and user-friendly. There is no public launch date yet, so users should expect wider availability only after testing and staged rollouts. When the feature becomes official, it should make moving passkeys between managers and devices much less cumbersome while maintaining the security properties that make passkeys an attractive alternative to passwords.