Google Rolls Out Password Alternative On Android and Chrome

Google has announced the launch of ‘passkeys’ as a replacement for passwords on Android and Chrome. Long-hailed as a safer alternative to passwords, passkeys cannot be reused or leaked during data breaches.

The development is huge as this could render passwords to be a thing of past soon. 

How Do Passkeys Work?

Passkeys follow already familiar UX patterns, and build on the existing experience of password autofill. For end-users, using one is similar to using a saved password today, where they simply confirm with their existing device screen lock such as their fingerprint.

The Passkeys on users’ phones and computers are backed up and synced through the cloud to prevent lockouts in the case of device loss. Additionally, users can use passkeys stored on their phone to sign in to apps and websites on other nearby devices.

Users will be able to use passkey stored in their phone to sing-in to apps and websites on any other nearby devices.

Users can create and use passkeys on Android devices, which are securely synced through the Google Password Manager and developers can build passkey support on their sites for end-users using Chrome via the WebAuthn API, on Android and other supported platforms.

Apple had also announced that it would begin supporting passkeys soon. Passkeys are built on industry standards and work across different operating systems and browser ecosystems and can be used for both websites and apps. The support across all devices is expected to come across devices and operating systems in the next few years.