With the number of accounts you have and each having its own password, it's a little hard to keep track and remember all of them. Luckily for us, there's such a thing as passkey, which will eliminate the need to remember any password. Plus, the feature is coming to Android devices soon.
Google's Credential Manager
While Google already announced the new feature days ago, it won't be live until tomorrow, November 1st. With the announcement of Credential Manager, Android users will soon be able to sign in to apps and websites without having to enter their passwords.
The manager will serve as storage for credentials such as usernames, passwords, and passkeys. The software giant has had the feature in developer preview for months now, and soon enough, people will have the option to sign in using passkeys.
With the change, it's likely that Android 14 will have better authentication support for apps, as pointed out by The Verge. In addition to that, Google is depreciating other authentication APIs so that developers will start using the Credential Manager for authentication.
If all goes well, this could become the new norm for logins and signups in various apps, at least for Android devices. Not only is it easier, but it's also so much safer than traditional passwords. Other than forgetting, fraudsters can also acquire them and harm the owner.
With passkeys, other methods of authentication will be removed such as email links, one-time passwords, and more. It's also a hassle for developers since with all these available methods of logging in, they have more work on their hands.
Passkeys will enable passwordless authentication, and the best part, no one can steal it from you or fake it. Passkeys use your biometrics to authenticate the login or sign up, and it usually requires a face scan or a fingerprint scan.
Unless you unlock your device, sites, and apps for the threat actor, you will be safe from phishing attacks and other scams. It's also not going to be hard to integrate the passwordless method since Credential Manager is said to be offering "developer-friendly APIs."
Uber Senior Director of Engineering Ramsin Betyousef said that the Android API will "enable seamless integration with our apps, eliminating concerns about device fragmentation. We've seen great results from launching passkeys across our apps and encourage all users to adopt passkeys."
Read Also: Apple, Google, Microsoft Support 'FIDO' Standard of Passwordless Sign-in on Major Platforms
The Same Goes for Personal Google Accounts
Passkeys are now a default when it comes to signing into personal Google accounts. There will be a prompt stating "Skip password when possible, which can be toggled in the Google Account settings. The company claims that it allows users to log in 40% faster than with passwords.
This already applies to several apps even before Credentials Manager was announced. The feature already applies to sites like YouTube, Google Search, Google Maps, Uber, and eBay. Of course, users will have the option to go for the traditional way of signing up or logging in. Although it's advisable to go for the safer method.
Related: Google is Switching to Passkeys by Default Across Personal Accounts
