Google is rolling out its new password-replacing technology

For a while now everybody has understood that passwords are far from being a perfect security measure for keeping yourself safe online. This is why two-factor authentication has become such a big thing. It takes the reliance off your password and requires two separate verifications of your identity before giving you access to your account. However, Google wants to go even further and remove passwords from the equation altogether and is rolling out what it is calling passkeys to users of Google Chrome and Android.

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In an Android Developer’s Blog Post Google announced that it is bringing passkey support to Android and Chrome. According to Google, passkeys are a much safer alternative to and hopefully a replacement for passwords and other phishable identity verification methods.

Passkeys use cryptography as well as the biometric login sensors on your devices to remove the need to use old or recycled passwords across multiple accounts. They couldn’t be simpler to use either. Once you have set them up on your device you simply use the fingerprint or facial recognition on your device to authenticate new apps and websites to create a passkey for the service. Describing the security benefits passkeys hold over passwords, Google said in the Android Developer’s Blog Post:

“Passkeys are a significantly safer replacement for passwords and other phishable authentication factors. They cannot be reused, don’t leak in server breaches, and protect users from phishing attacks. Passkeys are built on industry standards and work across different operating systems and browser ecosystems, and can be used for both websites and apps.”

The feature is currently being rolled out in the Google Play Services beta and Chrome Canary programs that are designed for more advanced users to provide feedback to the developers and help finalize new features. Google’s plan is to bring passkeys to general users later this year. As we are already in October, we can maybe assume that we won’t have too long to wait for that.

In other recent Google News, Google Maps has recently received an eco-friendly upgrade that is worth checking out.