Google just made a huge move towards a passwordless future

Google doesn't want you to use passwords anymore.

On Wednesday, coinciding with World Password Day, the company began rolling out support for passkeys for Google Accounts on all major platforms.

Passkeys are a simpler way to log into your online accounts. Instead of using a password (and, perhaps, an additional two-factor authentication (2FA) pin), you can sign into apps and websites by using passkeys, which — in practice — are the same as unlocking your phone or laptop.

In the background, it works like this: When you choose to use a passkey to sign into a website, two cryptographic keys are created, one public and one private. The private key stays on your device, while the public key is uploaded to Google. When you need to sign in, Google will ask your device to sign a unique "challenge" with your private key, which will only happen when you approve it by unlocking your device. The public key is then used by Google to verify the signature.

In a way, passkeys are like using a password and two-factor authentication at once, as you cannot log in without a previously approved hardware device. You can create a passkey for one account on multiple devices, thus giving you peace of mind that you'll still be able to log in if you happen to lose a device. And on some platforms, passkeys can be synced to your other devices; for example, Apple does this via iCloud, meaning you can sign into an account with multiple Apple devices, as long as they're all signed into the same iCloud account.

Google claims passkeys are safer than your typical password/2FA combination, meaning that you should be able to replace both with a single passkey. For example, one of the biggest issues with passwords is reusing the same ones on multiple sites, which makes multiple accounts susceptible to phishing and hacking attacks. With passkeys, this doesn't happen, as each passkey is only used for a single account.

Google says it sees passkey eventually replacing other methods of online identification, but the company has only added it as an additional sign-in option; existing methods, including passwords and 2FA, remain available.

Google previously enabled passkeys in Chrome in Dec. 2022, allowing users to sign into certain websites and apps with them, and syncing passkeys via the Google Password Manager. Apple is also using passkeys on its devices, allowing you to sign into certain websites and apps by using Face ID or Touch ID.