Google Enlists Android And Chrome In Fight To Banish Traditional Passwords

Pretty much everyone has experienced a moment of fear as they struggle to remember a password to an account they are trying to sign into. Throw into the fray prompts for two-factor authentication, hackers still accessing your pertinent information online, and trying to maintain an online account can feel overwhelming at times. Well, Google wants to streamline how we log-in by moving users toward a password-free experience, and has now invited Android and Chrome to the party and introduced passkey support to both in order to replace traditional passwords. The new feature aims to move users toward a password-free online experience.

The method Google is implementing uses a person's phone as a means of authenticating who you are. By doing so, it can replace the need for a password at all. While using things like a PIN, or biometrics may sound less secure, a hacker would need your actual phone to bypass it. Therefore, making it much less likely anyone could actually get into your account without your consent.

In a blog post on the Android Developer website, it is pointed out that "They cannot be reused, don't leak in server breaches, and protect users from phishing attacks." Passkeys can also be used on a variety of different operating systems and browser ecosystems, as well as used for both websites and apps.

The announcement made yesterday enables two key capabilities. The first, is that users can create and use passkeys on Android devices. The second, developers can build passkey support support on their individual sites for end-users using Chrome via the WebAuthn API, on Android and other supported platforms.

If you are a developer and would like to try it all out, you can enroll in the Google Play Services beta and use Chrome Canary. Both will be available later this year.

To sign-in to a website using a passkey on Android, users will first confirm the passkey information, and then present their fingerprint, face, or screen lock when prompted to do so. You can also sign into a website on your PC using this feature. As you attempt to sign-in, a prompt will be sent to your connected phone for you to complete the sign-in process.

As of right now. the primary purpose will be accessing web services. As developers take advantage of being able to access Android API in the near future, uses will most certainly expand. Google also wants to include other companies, such as Apple and Microsoft, in order to continue to grow this method of password-free authentication.

Top Image Credit: TBIT from Pixabay