Is this Google’s definitive goodbye to passwords?

Last year, Google began its crusade against passwords. While it might completely disconcert many of you that one of the world’s largest technology companies doesn’t want passwords to exist, everything has an explanation: they are generally insecure and many people end up forgetting them.

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To solve this, both Google and Microsoft, as well as Apple, decided to bet on a passwordless future by implementing passkeys. This new functionality aims to simplify logins and, at the same time, increase account security by using biometric identification (person’s fingerprints or face) or an associated mobile device.

While Google implemented passkeys in October 2022, subsequently adding them to its Chrome browser, its Workspace enterprise platform, and its recent operating system Android 14, Google had not yet made any move to completely eliminate passwords as a login method. Well, that is about to change.

According to CNN Business, Google aims to gradually render passwords obsolete by requesting users to create passkeys for logging into their accounts and making passkeys the default option for entering a login method (instead of the classic passwords, as it has been until now).

“We will continue to encourage the industry to move beyond passwords, making them a rarity and, over time, obsolete,” explains Google. However, the company states that, for now, it will continue to accept traditional passwords as a login method. Users can also opt out of using passwords by disabling the “skip password when possible” option in their accounts.

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Obviously, Google knows that phasing out the use of traditional passwords must be gradual, as many of its users are not very tech-savvy. The mandatory use of passkeys should ensure that anyone can figure out how to log in with this new procedure, without becoming a burden for anyone.