Some of us are slowly starting to forget our passwords. We’re not sure if it’s the festive season kicking in or if we just have too many passwords to remember. It’s probably the latter. If you’re on Google, and many other apps, you’ll hopefully not have to remember your passwords by the time January arrives and you log back into reality.
Google has finally made passkeys available for Chrome users after testing them since October. Passkey-secured logins can be used instead of passwords on desktop and mobile devices that run Android, macOS, and Windows 11.
Read More: FIDO says it’s just about time to kiss your passwords goodbye
Passkeys allow users to log in with fewer steps and so far, they seem to be more secure compared to passwords.
“A passkey can replace a password and a second factor in a single step,” says Google.
Google says, unlike passwords, passkeys offer more protection against phishing attacks than SMS or app-based one-time passwords.
“Since passkeys are standardized, a single implementation enables a passwordless experience across different browsers and operating systems.”
According to a report by The Verge, Android users will also be able to sync their passkeys to other devices using Google’s password manager or third-party password managers that are compatible. These include 1Password or Dashlane.
Read More: Apple’s PassKeys update could make traditional passwords obsolete
The tech giant joins many other tech companies including Apple, Microsoft, and Meta on WhatsApp. Companies are quickly replacing the password with passkeys requirements to log in to accounts.
It seems traditional passwords are increasingly becoming less secure.
Earlier this month, popular password manager Lastpass was hit with a data breach (again) when hackers gained access to the company’s source code and “other proprietary information”. Though hackers gained access to “certain elements” of the customer’s information, Lastpass said user passwords remained secure in an encrypted vault.
It may be time to consider moving to passkeys — at least until someone finds a way to exploit them. Passwords remain easy to forget and are more prone to cybercrime.