Google sets ball rolling for passwordless future for Android and Chrome devices

Google along with Apple and Microsoft earlier this year in May announced a collaboration with World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the FIDO (Fast ID Online) Alliance, to work on Web Authentication (WebAuthn) specifications for a safe and easy sign-in process.

This new-age authentication system can replace passwords and yet offer robust end-to-end secured access to websites and apps.

Now, the search engine giant has set the ball rolling for a passwordless verification system 'passkeys' on Android and Chrome. It has invited app and website owners to incorporate its WebAuthn API for passkeys and tests, and share feedback.

"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," said Google's joint team of Android, Chrome, and Account Security.

Passkeys can be stored on the device and also synced with cloud storage and as said before, will work across all devices- be it with Windows, macOS, iOS, ChromeOS or on Android, with a uniform user experience.

The user selects the account they want to sign in to, and presents their fingerprint, face, or screen lock when prompted. Credit: Google

A passkey is nothing but a short user ID alternative for a particular online account and as you can see in the screenshot above, once you select the passkey, the next step is, you will have to use either the fingerprint or the FaceID or the phone's lockscreen PIN to log in. This is a seamless smooth process and is said to be the most secure authentication system.

The company says it will continue to work with technology partners Apple, Microsoft, and members of the FIDO Alliance and the W3C to work on more secure systems, as digital security is an ever-evolving space. There will always be cyber criminals who will be able to find loopholes with the latest tech and Google hopes to be several steps ahead of the bad actors. All smart device owners hope so too.

Must read | Apple, Google, and Microsoft commit to bringing FIDO standard passwordless sign-in on devices in 2023

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