Google Rolls Out New Passkey Login Feature, Says Goodbye to Passwords

Google rolls out a new Passkey login feature that will replace the passwords. They mentionedthe difficulties users face while remembering their account passwords and highlighting the increased cybercrime risks.

Around World Password Day, Google rolled out its latest feature, “Passkeys” across major platforms for all personal Google account users. The company claims the Passkey feature is a more easy and secure option amidst the increasing cybercrimes worldwide.

The company declared that it began working on “Passkeys“ in 2022 in collaboration with FIDO Alliance, Apple, and Microsoft, following the development of a more secure alternative for the traditional Passwords that are way less secure and hard to remember. 

The passwords are easy to crack, which puts the users at potential risk of cyber-attacks through phishing and hacking tactics.

Google, on their blog, posted, “For the first time, we’ve begun rolling out passkeys, the easiest and most secure way to sign in to apps and websites and a major step toward a “passwordless future.”

Christiaan Brand, who is an identity and security product manager at Google and also the co-chair of the FIDO2 technical working group, said, “We have an opportunity here to change how users think about signing in. If we can change the way that signing in works for your Google account, we hope that consumers will start to get more accustomed to the technology and also signal to the industry that we’re not just talking about this stuff; it is ready for prime-time adoption.”

How Do Passkeys Work?

Even after you make a passkey for your account, Google confirms that you can still log in with the default username and password. The Passkey feature is an additional authentication option, which the users can manually enable after logging into their accounts and setting up the Passkey by clicking on the “Create a Passkey” option.

Google stated that the Passkeys could be used to login into your account across platforms using a fingerprint, a face scan, or a screen lock PIN, quite similar to how users unlock their mobile devices. The feature uses cryptographic keys stored on the devices to authenticate and verify the account to prevent users’ accounts from phishing attacks.

Users can sync their Passkey across devices and even generate multiple Passkeys for their accounts on multiple devices through Google Password Manager or by generating a QR code. The users can browse and manage all their Passkeys on the “Passkey Management Page.”

The feature is available for all personal Google account users now; the company states, “For Google Workspace accounts, administrators will soon have the option to enable passkeys for their end-users during sign-in.”

Google aims to replace Passwords with Passkeys completely and is adamant that the users will initially take time to adapt to the change but will eventually find the Passkeys easier than Passwords. 

It assumes that the users will completely replace Passwords with Passkeys while moving toward more secure, easy, and advanced digital logins.