Google is pushing for passkeys, a new way of signing in without passwords, more than ever before. The company has announced that passkeys are now the default option for authentication on personal accounts.
Read More: Signal Now Introduces Edit Message Feature: Is It Better Than WhatsApp?
Passkeys are being hailed as the future of security by big tech, and with big tech actively promoting their use, passwords may soon become obsolete. Google began to integrate passkey support into its Android OS and Chrome browser in October 2022, and in May 2023, it extended the support to personal Google accounts.
But now that passkeys are the default method, you will see prompts to create and use passkeys for all your subsequent sign-ins. When you enable passkeys, you will no longer have to enter your password to access your Google account, for example, on Gmail.
Additionally, when you enable passkeys, you will find the “Skip password when possible” option turned on in your Google Account settings. This means that passkeys are still optional, and if you are not a fan of them for some reason (we strongly recommend that you enable them to enhance your account security), you can always switch back to the traditional password login method.
To use passkeys, you simply use a fingerprint, face scan or pin to unlock your device. Google says that they are 40% faster than passwords and rely on a type of cryptography that makes them more secure.
Read More: X Users Can Now Choose To Only Receive Replies From Verified Accounts: What It Means
Enabling passkeys also saves you the trouble of remembering all those numbers and special characters in passwords. They are also resistant to phishing.
Since their launch earlier this year, people can sign in to Google services like YouTube, Search and Maps using passkeys. Platforms like Uber and eBay have also enabled passkeys. Google also says that WhatsApp compatibility is coming soon.
How to enable passkeys for Google
Personal accounts aside, if you wish to login with passkeys wherever they’re supported, follow the steps below.
Go to myaccount.google.com.
Click Security
Click Passkeys under How you sign into Google.
Click the Use passkeys button.
Read More: Windows 12 To Release Soon? What Intel Knows About Upcoming OS | Details Inside
Click the Create a Passkey button at the bottom.
Check the information stored with the new passkey.
