You don’t need password to log into your Google account anymore; know more details

Passwords may be a thing of the past as Google has finally started to roll out “passkey” support for account log-ins. Created by FIDO and the World Wide Web Consortium, the new standard aims to allow apps and websites to have a single, secure, and unified login across different devices, even platforms like Windows, macOS, and Chrome OS. Apple and Microsoft are the other tech giants advocating for a universal “passwordless” sign‑in option.

Passwords are more susceptible to security breaches. The chances of being hacked increases, even more, when passwords are reused, which is again, more commonplace than you’d think. Even 2-Step Verification (2SV), which is technically more secure, is prone to phishing and targeted attacks like SIM swaps. Passkeys are being billed as both a more convenient and safer alternative. Google in fact go so far as to say passkeys are strong enough that they “can stand in for security keys” for users enrolled in its Advanced Protection Program.

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The idea behind passkeys is that users will make use of the same actions— fingerprint or face, or a device PIN— they use multiple times each day to, also, log into apps and websites. Since all this data resides locally on device, already, it is less likely to be hacked. You can choose to set up individual passkeys for multiple devices, or, use the same across devices from Apple for instance with iCloud backup enabled. You can also use an existing passkey from another device to sign into a new device temporarily.

Google admits that passkeys are still a new concept and it will take some time before they work everywhere which is to say that current authentication methods – passwords/2SV— aren’t going anywhere anytime soon but the company will “increasingly scrutinise these as passkeys gain broader support and familiarity.”