Migrate from Smart Lock for Passwords to Credential Manager
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Smart Lock for Passwords, which was deprecated in 2022, is now
removed from the Google Play Services Auth SDK
(com.google.android.gms:play-services-auth
) . To minimize breaking changes
that may impact existing integrations, Smart Lock capabilities for all existing
apps in the Play Store will continue to work correctly. New app versions
compiled with the updated SDK
(com.google.android.gms:play-services-auth:21.0.0
) are no longer able to
access the Smart Lock for Password API and won't build successfully. All
developers should migrate their Android projects to use Credential Manager
as soon as possible.
Benefits of migration to the Credential Manager API
Credential Manager offers a simple, unified API that enables support for modern
features and practices while improving the authentication experience for your
users:
- Credential Manager fully supports password saving and authentication.
This means no interruption for your users as your app migrates from Smart
Lock to Credential Manager.
- Credential Manager integrates support for multiple sign in methods,
including passkeys and federated sign in methods like Sign
in with Google, to increase security and enable conversion if you plan
to support either in the future.
- Starting with Android 14, Credential Manager supports third-party password
and passkey providers.
- Credential Manager provides a consistent, unified user experience
across all authentication methods.
Migration options:
Sign in with passwords using Credential Manager
To use Credential Manager API, complete the steps outlined in the
prerequisites section of the Credential Manager guide, and make sure you do
the following:
Sign in with saved passwords
To retrieve password options that are associated with the user's account,
complete these steps:
1. Initialize the password and authentication option
// Retrieves the user's saved password for your app from their
// password provider.
val getPasswordOption = GetPasswordOption()
2. Use the options retrieved from the previous step to build the sign-in
request
val getCredRequest = GetCredentialRequest(
listOf(getPasswordOption)
)
3. Launch the sign-in flow
fun launchSignInFlow() {
coroutineScope.launch {
try {
// Attempt to retrieve the credential from the Credential Manager.
val result = credentialManager.getCredential(
// Use an activity-based context to avoid undefined system UI
// launching behavior.
context = activityContext,
request = getCredRequest
)
// Process the successfully retrieved credential.
handleSignIn(result)
} catch (e: GetCredentialException) {
// Handle any errors that occur during the credential retrieval
// process.
handleFailure(e)
}
}
}
private fun handleSignIn(result: GetCredentialResponse) {
// Extract the credential from the response.
val credential = result.credential
// Determine the type of credential and handle it accordingly.
when (credential) {
is PasswordCredential -> {
val username = credential.id
val password = credential.password
// Use the extracted username and password to perform
// authentication.
}
else -> {
// Handle unrecognized credential types.
Log.e(TAG, "Unexpected type of credential")
}
}
}
private fun handleFailure(e: GetCredentialException) {
// Handle specific credential retrieval errors.
when (e) {
is GetCredentialCancellationException -> {
/* This exception is thrown when the user intentionally cancels
the credential retrieval operation. Update the application's state
accordingly. */
}
is GetCredentialCustomException -> {
/* This exception is thrown when a custom error occurs during the
credential retrieval flow. Refer to the documentation of the
third-party SDK used to create the GetCredentialRequest for
handling this exception. */
}
is GetCredentialInterruptedException -> {
/* This exception is thrown when an interruption occurs during the
credential retrieval flow. Determine whether to retry the
operation or proceed with an alternative authentication method. */
}
is GetCredentialProviderConfigurationException -> {
/* This exception is thrown when there is a mismatch in
configurations for the credential provider. Verify that the
provider dependency is included in the manifest and that the
required system services are enabled. */
}
is GetCredentialUnknownException -> {
/* This exception is thrown when the credential retrieval
operation fails without providing any additional details. Handle
the error appropriately based on the application's context. */
}
is GetCredentialUnsupportedException -> {
/* This exception is thrown when the device does not support the
Credential Manager feature. Inform the user that credential-based
authentication is unavailable and guide them to an alternative
authentication method. */
}
is NoCredentialException -> {
/* This exception is thrown when there are no viable credentials
available for the user. Prompt the user to sign up for an account
or provide an alternative authentication method. Upon successful
authentication, store the login information using
androidx.credentials.CredentialManager.createCredential to
facilitate easier sign-in the next time. */
}
else -> {
// Handle unexpected exceptions.
Log.w(TAG, "Unexpected exception type: ${e::class.java.name}")
}
}
}
Additional resources
Content and code samples on this page are subject to the licenses described in the Content License. Java and OpenJDK are trademarks or registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Last updated 2025-07-28 UTC.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-07-28 UTC."],[],[],null,["# Migrate from Smart Lock for Passwords to Credential Manager\n\n[Smart Lock for Passwords](https://developers.google.com/identity/smartlock-passwords/android/overview), which was deprecated in 2022, is now\nremoved from the [Google Play Services Auth SDK](https://maven.google.com/web/index.html?q=play-services-auth#com.google.android.gms:play-services-auth)\n(`com.google.android.gms:play-services-auth`) . To minimize breaking changes\nthat may impact existing integrations, Smart Lock capabilities for all existing\napps in the Play Store will continue to work correctly. New app versions\ncompiled with the updated SDK\n(`com.google.android.gms:play-services-auth:21.0.0`) are no longer able to\naccess the Smart Lock for Password API and won't build successfully. All\ndevelopers should migrate their Android projects to use [Credential Manager](/training/sign-in/passkeys)\nas soon as possible.\n\nBenefits of migration to the Credential Manager API\n---------------------------------------------------\n\nCredential Manager offers a simple, unified API that enables support for modern\nfeatures and practices while improving the authentication experience for your\nusers:\n\n- Credential Manager fully [supports password saving and authentication](/training/sign-in/passkeys). This means no interruption for your users as your app migrates from Smart Lock to Credential Manager.\n- Credential Manager integrates support for multiple sign in methods, including [passkeys](https://developers.google.com/identity/passkeys) and federated sign in methods like [Sign\n in with Google](/training/sign-in/credential-manager), to increase security and enable conversion if you plan to support either in the future.\n- Starting with Android 14, Credential Manager supports third-party password and passkey providers.\n- Credential Manager provides a consistent, unified [user experience](/design/ui/mobile/guides/patterns/passkeys) across all authentication methods.\n\n**Migration options**:\n\n| Use case | Recommendation |\n|-----------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|\n| Save password and sign in with saved password | Use the password option from the [Sign in your user with Credential Manager](/training/sign-in/passkeys) guide. The detailed steps for password saving and authentication are described later. |\n| Sign in with Google | Follow the [Integrate Credential Manager with Sign in with Google](/training/sign-in/credential-manager) guide. |\n| Show Phone number hint to users | Use the [Phone Number Hint API](https://developers.google.com/identity/phone-number-hint/android) from Google Identity Services. |\n\nSign in with passwords using Credential Manager\n-----------------------------------------------\n\nTo use Credential Manager API, complete the steps outlined in the\n[prerequisites](/training/sign-in/passkeys#prerequisites) section of the Credential Manager guide, and make sure you do\nthe following:\n\n- [Add required dependencies](/training/sign-in/passkeys#add-dependencies)\n- [Preserve classes in the ProGuard file](/training/sign-in/passkeys#proguard)\n- [Add support for Digital Asset Links](/training/sign-in/passkeys#add-support-dal) (this step should be already implemented if you are using Smart Lock for Passwords)\n- [Configure Credentials Manager](/training/sign-in/passkeys#configure)\n- [Indicate credential fields](/training/sign-in/passkeys#indicate_credential_fields)\n- [Save a user's password](/training/sign-in/passkeys#save-password)\n\nSign in with saved passwords\n----------------------------\n\nTo retrieve password options that are associated with the user's account,\ncomplete these steps:\n\n1. Initialize the password and authentication option \n\n // Retrieves the user's saved password for your app from their\n // password provider.\n val getPasswordOption = GetPasswordOption()\n\n2. Use the options retrieved from the previous step to build the sign-in\nrequest \n\n val getCredRequest = GetCredentialRequest(\n listOf(getPasswordOption)\n )\n\n3. Launch the sign-in flow \n\n fun launchSignInFlow() {\n coroutineScope.launch {\n try {\n // Attempt to retrieve the credential from the Credential Manager.\n val result = credentialManager.getCredential(\n // Use an activity-based context to avoid undefined system UI\n // launching behavior.\n context = activityContext,\n request = getCredRequest\n )\n\n // Process the successfully retrieved credential.\n handleSignIn(result)\n } catch (e: GetCredentialException) {\n // Handle any errors that occur during the credential retrieval\n // process.\n handleFailure(e)\n }\n }\n }\n\n private fun handleSignIn(result: GetCredentialResponse) {\n // Extract the credential from the response.\n val credential = result.credential\n\n // Determine the type of credential and handle it accordingly.\n when (credential) {\n is PasswordCredential -\u003e {\n val username = credential.id\n val password = credential.password\n\n // Use the extracted username and password to perform\n // authentication.\n }\n\n else -\u003e {\n // Handle unrecognized credential types.\n Log.e(TAG, \"Unexpected type of credential\")\n }\n }\n }\n\n private fun handleFailure(e: GetCredentialException) {\n // Handle specific credential retrieval errors.\n when (e) {\n is GetCredentialCancellationException -\u003e {\n /* This exception is thrown when the user intentionally cancels\n the credential retrieval operation. Update the application's state\n accordingly. */\n }\n\n is GetCredentialCustomException -\u003e {\n /* This exception is thrown when a custom error occurs during the\n credential retrieval flow. Refer to the documentation of the\n third-party SDK used to create the GetCredentialRequest for\n handling this exception. */\n }\n\n is GetCredentialInterruptedException -\u003e {\n /* This exception is thrown when an interruption occurs during the\n credential retrieval flow. Determine whether to retry the\n operation or proceed with an alternative authentication method. */\n }\n\n is GetCredentialProviderConfigurationException -\u003e {\n /* This exception is thrown when there is a mismatch in\n configurations for the credential provider. Verify that the\n provider dependency is included in the manifest and that the\n required system services are enabled. */\n }\n\n is GetCredentialUnknownException -\u003e {\n /* This exception is thrown when the credential retrieval\n operation fails without providing any additional details. Handle\n the error appropriately based on the application's context. */\n }\n\n is GetCredentialUnsupportedException -\u003e {\n /* This exception is thrown when the device does not support the\n Credential Manager feature. Inform the user that credential-based\n authentication is unavailable and guide them to an alternative\n authentication method. */\n }\n\n is NoCredentialException -\u003e {\n /* This exception is thrown when there are no viable credentials\n available for the user. Prompt the user to sign up for an account\n or provide an alternative authentication method. Upon successful\n authentication, store the login information using\n androidx.credentials.CredentialManager.createCredential to\n facilitate easier sign-in the next time. */\n }\n\n else -\u003e {\n // Handle unexpected exceptions.\n Log.w(TAG, \"Unexpected exception type: ${e::class.java.name}\")\n }\n }\n }\n\nAdditional resources\n--------------------\n\n- [Credential Manager sample reference](https://github.com/android/identity-samples/tree/glitch_me_version/CredentialManager)\n- [Credential Manager codelab](https://codelabs.developers.google.com/credential-manager-api-for-android#0)\n- [Sign in your user with Credential Manager](/training/sign-in/passkeys)"]]