A sloppy password is a recipe for disaster. This is the reason why many leading tech companies have started looking at a password-less future and joining this bandwagon is now the search engine giant Google. A latest Android Developers blog post reveals that Google is testing passkeys for Android and Chrome.
“Passkeys are a safer and more secure alternative to passwords. They also replace the need for traditional 2nd factor authentication methods such as text message, app based one-time codes or push-based approvals. Passkeys use public-key cryptography so that data breaches of service providers don’t result in a compromise of passkey-protected accounts, and are based on industry standard APIs and protocols to ensure they are not subject to phishing attacks,” reads the Developer’s blog post.
Google explains that for signing into a website on an Android device with a passkey in two steps- first confirm the passkey account information and then present your fingerprint, face, or screen lock when prompted. To sign in, simple select the account you want to sign in to and present your fingerprint, face, or screen lock when asked for it.
It further informs that the passkey on a phone can also be used to sign in on a nearby device. “For example, an Android user can now sign in to a passkey-enabled website using Safari on a Mac. Similarly, passkey support in Chrome means that a Chrome user, for example on Windows, can do the same using a passkey stored on their iOS device.”
The passkeys work across various platforms including Windows, macOS and iOS, and ChromeOS.
“Today is another important milestone, but our work is not done. Google remains committed to a world where users can choose where their passwords, and now passkeys, are stored. Please stay tuned for more updates from us in the next year as we introduce changes to Android, enabling third party credential managers to support passkeys for their users,” Google ends the post with this
