Since Android Oreo’s release, auto-fill has made it easy for users to submit in-app information, such as credit cards, login information, addresses, and more. Forms in the App can now be filled out automatically, and users don’t have to struggle to remember complicated passwords and fill them out again and again.

Users can choose from a variety of auto-fill services (similar to selecting an input method). By default, Google supports auto-fill, but users can add any three-way auto-fill App, and the process is as follows:

Settings -> System -> Language -> Advanced Options -> Auto Fill Service

Auto fill currently supported items:

Right now, the auto-fill feature under Google supports credit card information, address, login information, name and phone number. When a user logs in for the first time or creates an account, the auto-fill function also allows the user to save the authentication information of the account. Even if you log in via WebViews — the built-in browser control used to open the login page — you can still take advantage of the auto-fill feature, provided you have Chrome 61 or later on your device.


The auto-fill API is completely open and can be downloaded by any developer who wants to embed the service in their App. We’re currently working with 1Password, Dashlane, Keeper, and LastPass to accelerate their certification on Android. At the same time, we will authenticate the Password Manager and add it to Google Play. Users will be able to link to the page in Google Play by clicking the “Add Service” button.

What should developers do?

If you are an App developer, you can easily add auto-fill to your App by completing the following simple steps:

To test the App, annotate the view if necessary:

For the most part, no extra action is required to enable the App to auto-fill. However, to ensure consistent behavior, we recommend that developers provide explicit hints about field content to the framework via Android :autofillHints Attribute or setAutofillHints () Method.

If the App uses WebViews, developers can provide field prompts via HTML Autocomplete Attributes. It is important to note that Chrome must be upgraded to version 61 or later for WebViews to support auto-fill. Even if your App uses a custom view, developers can add auto-fill functionality by defining metadata.

Visit this link to learn more:

What about things like Captcha (verification code) or message dialogs that are completely unsuitable for auto-filling? Developers simply need to set the view parameter to IMPORTANT_FOR_AUTOFILL_NO (or the view hierarchy root to IMPORTANT_FOR_AUTOFILL_NO_EXCLUDE_DESCENDANTS). Use this field responsibly, keeping in mind that users can bypass this step at any time by holding down the input box (EditText) and selecting Autofill from the Hover menu.

Associate website and mobile App

Google autofill seamlessly shares login information between websites and mobile apps, meaning that passwords saved in Chrome can also be used in native apps. But how do you make sure all three apps can share information? This requires developers to establish a clear link between the website and the mobile App. The steps are as follows:

Step 1: InYourdomain.com/.well-known…Host JSON files in

If you’ve worked with technologies like App Link or Google Smart Lock before, you’ve probably heard of Digital Asset Link (DAL) files. DAL is stored as a JSON file in your web server.well-known directory and is used to publicly declare other apps or websites associated with this site.

Refer to the Smart Lock for Passwords guide to follow the steps in the guide to create and host DAL files correctly on the server. Smart Lock is more advanced in terms of users logging in to the App, but our auto-fill function actually uses the same infrastructure to verify the association between the App and the website. Moreover, because DAL files are fully public, third-party auto-fill service developers can also use the associated information to ensure implementation security.

Step 2: Update the App Manifest with the same information

Similarly, follow the Smart Lock for Passwords entry for declaring Android App Associations in the Guide.

Developers need to update the manifest file of the App with the asset_statements resource, which links to the URL that hosts the assetlinks.json file. After completing these operations, developers need to re-upload their App to Google Play and fill out a “Affiliation Submission Form” for the Affiliation to take effect.

The App Links Assistant in Android Studio 3.0 automatically generates all of the above information for developers. Open the DAL Generator tool (Tools -> App Links Assistant -> Open digital Asset Link File Generator) and make sure the new check box called “Support sharing of authentication information between App and Website” is enabled.



Then click “Generate digital Asset link file”, copy the preview information to the DAL file, and host the file on the server and App. Remember to verify that the selected domain name and certificate are correct.

Android auto-fill is still in its early stages, and we will continue to work to improve the experience, whether users use it through Google or a third-party password manager.

Looking to the future

Our main efforts are as follows:

  1. Google Autofill: We want users to have a great experience from the start, so Google Autofill is available on all Android Oreo devices. We continue to improve field detection and data quality, as well as expand support and save data categories.

  2. WebView support: Starting with Chrome 61, we’ve introduced WebViews form filling support, and we’ll continue to test, refine, and improve this integration so that even if your App uses WebViews, you can still enjoy auto-fill.

  3. Third party App support: We are working closely with our ecosystem partners to ensure that the App is built on top of the auto-fill infrastructure. It is highly recommended that developers try to release their apps on Android Oreo and see if auto-fill is supported on schedule. See the complete autofill Framework documentation for more information.

If you have any questions or have any valuable comments, you are welcome to contact us through message and other ways to help us to further improve the product.