Google announced its support for “passwordless FIDO Sign-in standards,” as well as a preview of the end-user experience with passkeys on Android and Chrome.
For the past decade or so, Google has been working to replace passwords due to people’s poor password hygiene (i.e., reusing credentials across multiple services), vulnerability to data breaches, and phishing scams.
Your Android phone will save a “passkey” that can be used to access an online account (in Google Chrome).
You simply unlock your mobile device instead of entering a password to sign into a website or app. Passkeys are synced to the cloud (via your Google Account) and transferred when you get a new phone or if it is ever lost
This passwordless future places a high value on your phone and Google Account.
We’re told today that passkeys will work with devices running Android 9 and newer, while we’ve already spotted Google Play Services readying support.
Meanwhile, logging into your Google Account will continue to require two levels of security and authentication.
