Google Now Supporting Passwordless Sign-Ins

Google has officially started supporting passkey sign-ins.

In another step designed to kill the password, Google is asking its users to try out passkeys while logging into their personal accounts. Their thought process is that by asking everyday google users to adopt this practice on their personal accounts, it could help drive adoption and awareness of the new authentication technology.

“Passkeys let users in to apps and sites that same way they unlock their devices: with a fingerprint, a face scan, or a screen lock PIN,” the company said in its announcement. “And, unlike passwords, passkeys are resistant to online attacks like phishing, making them more secure than things like SMS one-time codes.”

By replacing passwords with passkeys, it eliminates the risk of passwords being stolen via data breach, malware or lucky guess. Passkeys create private and unique cryptographic keys that are assigned to your device. Your Google account will then issue a “challenge” that the passkey will sign into and use to unlock access.

Because passkeys eliminate passwords, cybercriminals cannot steal your password because no data is being exchanged. Passkeys are a two-step process as well, implementing a second authentication such as a fingerprint scan or a PIN number as added security.

Story via PCMag