Google rolls out passkeys toward a “passwordless future”

Tech giant, Google, has commenced the roll-out of passkeys signalling a major step toward a “passwordless future.”

According to Google in a post yesterday, it has “started rolling out support for passkeys across Google Accounts on all major platforms. They’ll be an additional option that people can use to sign in, alongside passwords, 2-Step Verification (2SV), etc.”

Last year, three tech giants Apple, Google and Microsoft said they were planning to kill off the use of passwords across mobile, desktop and browsers, with “passkeys” being the replacement.

What are Passkeys?

Passkeys are a new way to sign in to apps and websites. They’re both easier to use and more secure than passwords, so users no longer need to rely on the names of pets, birthdays or the infamous “password123.” Instead, passkeys let users sign in to apps and sites the same way they unlock their devices: with a fingerprint, a face scan or a screen lock PIN. And, unlike passwords, passkeys are resistant to online attacks like phishing, making them more secure than things like SMS one-time codes.

Google’s passkey support is rolling out now for consumer devices and soon for Google Workspace business users.

You can try them out at g.co/passkeys and setting it up is easy.