How To Use Google Assistant To Fix Your Compromised Passwords

Google Assistant is useful not only because it works via voice and responds naturally. On those fronts, it’s arguably the best AI assistant around. But also because Google Assistant makes mundane tasks, such as offering to fix compromised passwords, easier.

In fact, that example is precisely what this guide sets out to show you how to accomplish. Specifically, how you can use Google Assistant to walk you through changing passwords that are known to have been compromised following a breach, after checking for those in Google Chrome. Taking some of the guesswork and headache out of that process.

Here’s how Google Assistant can help you fix your passwords

Now, changing passwords can be a real challenge. Especially for those who aren’t as tech-savvy. Google has, via Chrome and its password manager, made that much easier. Including the introduction of a Safety Check feature, which all but completes the task for you. But this newer feature, using Google Assistant to fix compromised passwords, should be easier still.

In particular, that’s because it walks users through the process from start to finish. Without the need for a lot of navigating, let alone navigating an external website manually.

With that said, getting to the feature isn’t the most intuitive process. Google has placed it in a similar location to Safety Check and, as of right now, some may have to navigate there manually. As opposed to being taken there via a prompt about password security.

None of that is to say that it’s difficult. And the following steps should get you there relatively quickly, as is the case with all of our guides.

1. Open up Google Chrome on your mobile device — this method to fix compromised passwords does not rely solely on Assistant, to begin with, as noted above. So Chrome will be required, for now, on either a phone or tablet. Although it could eventually work without, as voice recognition improves
2. Tap on the three-dot overflow icon, located at the top right-hand side of the Chrome UI. That’s shaped as three dots, aligned vertically
3. Select the “Settings” option from the resulting menu, accompanied to the left by a gear-shaped icon
4. In the following menu, select the “Passwords” option. That will be listed about mid-way down the page when it first loads up.
5. At the top of the page, just above the list of account passwords saved to the Google account, there’s an option to “Check passwords” available. Select that
6. Chrome will first run through a check of all associated passwords saved to your Google account, checking for compromised passwords to fix — Assistant won’t be readily apparent just yet
7. If you have no compromised passwords, you’ll see a results screen that indicates as much. As shown in our images below. You can stop following these steps here, for the time being, if that’s the case. You don’t have any passwords, saved by Google, that necessarily need to be changed
8. If you do have compromised passwords, those will be listed out. Alongside a button with a “Change Password” label. A portion of those will also feature the Google Assistant icon. Tap to select one of those buttons, for the password you’d like to change
9. Google will redirect you to a new page, titled “Let Google Assistant help you change your password.” It also details what selecting the “I agree” button will do. Namely, to give Assistant access to URLs and contents of sites on which Assistant is used. The information could be stored by Google as well, so that’s worth taking note of for those who are more privacy-concerned. If you agree to let Google Assistant complete actions on your behalf “across websites” in Chrome, select the “I agree” button. Otherwise, select “Cancel” if you’d rather avoid giving Assistant that much access
10. Follow the Google Assistant prompts to change the password. At each stage, the Assistant will inform you of exactly what it’s doing and ask for confirmation. Including confirmation that you still accept the cookie policies for the sites that require a password change. Any and all changes will be automatically saved to your stored passwords in your Google account and/or stored in Chrome. So you won’t then need to remember the new passwords you’ve set