Passwords have been a cornerstone of computer security for years, but they’re not particularly secure — and they’ll be even less so after a major password leak. The industry is moving to a better way of logging in, called “Passwords,” and you’ll soon be able to use it on your Android device and other devices running Chrome.
Unlike a password, a password is automatically generated and cannot be reused. However, the user experience is very familiar to those who use password autofill. First, here’s what it’s like to create a passkey – you just make sure you want to create a new one for one site and one account, and use whatever method you use to unlock your phone (for example, a fingerprint reader).
Creating a password
Once done, the passkey will be synced across all your devices using Google Password Manager. This means that even if you lose your phone, you can access all your accounts.
Using the password is similar to using a stored password – verify the account you want to use, and then verify it with a fingerprint reader (or face unlock or whatever). The good thing about passwords is that you can use your phone to log in to nearby devices, for example, if your computer doesn’t have a fingerprint reader, you can use the one on your phone.
Using a passkey to log in is the same as using a stored password.
It should be noted that passkeys are not a Google thing, but are supported by many platforms. Safari on macOS already has this feature, so if you’re visiting a site that uses passkeys, it will generate a QR code – scan it with an Android phone and you’re signed in.
You can use a password-enabled device to log in to another
That’s how it works, anyway, now Passkeys are available in the Google Play Services beta channel and Chrome Canary. But once it’s ready for prime time, you can use it on any platform, such as using an iPhone to access a site in Chrome on Windows.
We’ve been talking about websites so far, but Passkeys are coming to Android apps as well — a 2022 next goal for the Google team working on this feature. As with passwords, passkeys created on a website will work on the corresponding app and vice versa.
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