Google To Ditch Passwords For Passkeys Forever Across All Its Apps

Google To Ditch Passwords For Passkeys Forever Across All Its Apps

Google has made an important announcement that its apps and services will now default to a “passwordless” approach, encouraging all users to transition to passkeys.

This shift reflects a broader consensus within the tech industry to move away from traditional passwords, which have been in use since the 1960s, and embrace a more secure and efficient method of verifying a person’s identity.

“We’ll continue to advocate for the industry to embrace passkeys, making passwords increasingly rare and, eventually, obsolete.”

Google users who still need to adopt passkeys will receive a prompt to set one up the next time they log into their accounts. Other online platforms, such as eBay and Uber, have already implemented passkeys as the tech sector strives to replace traditional passwords entirely.

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Ramsin Betyyousef, a senior director of engineering at Uber, shared, “We’ve seen excellent results from introducing passkeys across our apps and encourage all users to make the switch. Ultimately, this benefits both Uber and its customers.”

Google, with its billions of users across various platforms, acknowledges that “new technologies take time to become widespread.” As a result, they’re allowing people to temporarily opt out of passkeys and continue using passwords whenever they prefer.

While Google didn’t specify a date for the complete phase-out of passwords, some security experts believe it’s inevitable as long as hackers continue to exploit their vulnerabilities.

The transition is being facilitated by the FIDO (Fast Identity Online) Alliance, which has been collaborating with major tech companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft to develop this new standard for login.

Alex Simons, who leads Microsoft’s Identity Program Management team, stated, “The complete transition to a passwordless world will begin when consumers naturally adopt it as part of their lives.

By working together across platforms, we can finally realize this vision and make substantial progress toward eliminating passwords.”

Passkeys combine a code with biometric data, such as fingerprints or facial recognition, making them more memorable and harder to steal. Google’s apps like YouTube, Search, and Maps now support this new format, though the adoption has been slower than anticipated.

Google emphasized that the push to have users adopt passkeys coincides with Cybersecurity Awareness Month, asserting that this new technology is both faster and more secure.

“They are 40% faster than traditional passwords and rely on a form of cryptography that enhances their security,” explained Google product managers Sriram Karra and Christiaan Brand in a blog post detailing this change.