Android gets new way to keep your apps logged in after device setup

Thanks to a new feature that Google is introducing for developers, Android can keep you logged in to apps on a new device.

Android’s Credential Manager API responsible for sign-ins and passkeys is adding a new Restore Credentials feature. 

“…apps can seamlessly onboard users to their accounts on a new device after they restore their apps and data from their previous device.”

Notably, users “will continue being signed in as they were on their previous device, and they will be able to get notifications to easily access their content without even needing to open the app on the new device” if developers implement some additional work.

When you sign in to an app on an existing device, a restore key will be saved to Credential Manager. It’s encrypted, and stored locally and/or in cloud backups (if that’s enabled by the user). 

During the restore process on a new device, apps and the restore keys will be moved to the new device. Upon first launch, apps will request the restore key and sign users back in.

• If the user transfers locally, the restore key is transferred locally from the old to the new device. 
• Otherwise, if the user restores using the cloud backup, the restore key gets downloaded along with the app data from cloud backup to the new device.

Google notes how “there’s no developer effort required for the transfer of a restore key from one device to the other, as this process is tied together with the [A]ndroid system’s backup and restore mechanism.” 

However, developers can implement a “backup agent,” so that users are logged back in silently before they even open the app.

The Restore Credentials API is currently in developer preview and available on Android 9+.