Android’s New Feature Will Automatically Log Users Back Into Apps When Switching Devices

Google has announced a new feature for Android which aims to make the process of switching to and setting up new devices a quicker and more efficient experience. The feature, called Restore Credentials, can automatically log users back into apps on devices once the switchover is complete, leveraging a restore key. It has been introduced as part of Android's Credential Manager API and works with both cloud and local restore options on Android devices.

Restore Credentials Feature on Android

Google detailed its new Restore Credentials feature in a blog post. The Mountain View-based technology giant highlighted that it is tied to the backup and restore mechanism of the Android system. Even when signed in on the new device, users will continue to be able to access all of their apps and receive notifications on their old devices as well.

It uses a public key which is compatible with passkey and FIDO2 backends and makes use of the passkey server-side infrastructure. As per the company, users will be silently logged in after data restoration is complete if there is a backup agent integration. In case there is none, the app will carry out a search for the restore key upon the first launch and then automatically sign the user in.

How Android's New Restore Credentials Feature Works
Photo Credit: Android

The developer can create a restore key for the user which is saved locally. It can also get saved in the cloud if the user backs up their device and end-to-end encryption is available. Once the data restore process is commenced, the app data, along with the restore key is also copied over to the new device, either through the cloud or local transfer. It then automatically signs in the user on the new device. Google says this entire process does not require any user input.

Google advises developers to delete the restore key as soon as the user signs out to avoid the cycle of signing out intentionally and automatically getting logged back in. They can create, obtain, and clear restore credentials using the Jetpack Credential Manager.