Google now lets you access your account with passkeys rather than passwords

Google announced that passkeys are now rolling out to Google Account users globally.

The news comes nearly a year to the day after Google, Apple, Microsoft, and the FIDO Alliance announced a partnership to make frictionless passwordless logins a reality across devices, operating systems, and browsers.

While multi-factor authentication mechanisms and password managers offer reasonable security improvements on traditional username/password workflows, they are not without their flaws. An authentication code sent via SMS can be intercepted, for example, while having to use additional third-party password management software is one hassle too many for some.

With passkeys, users’ authentication essentially synchronizes across all their devices through the cloud using cryptographic key pairs, allowing them to sign-in to websites and apps using the same biometrics or screen-lock PIN they use to unlock their devices. This makes it far more difficult for bad actors to access users’ accounts remotely, given that physical access to the user’s device is needed.