In the middle of last year, Google began its assault on the password by introducing passkeys. These passkeys were brought in as the future of logging into things, as they utilize other devices around you to confirm you are you, instead of asking you to rely on passwords that aren’t quite as secure.
Today, Google announced that it has partnered with a bunch of big companies to help you upgrade to passkeys with their services. The list of companies includes Adobe, Best Buy, DocuSign, eBay, Kayak, Money Forward, Nintendo, PayPal, Uber, and Yahoo! Japan. TikTok will join this group “soon.”
To switch to passkeys with these companies, you’ll first open up the Google Password Manager. The easiest way to do this is by swiping up on your Pixel phone’s launcher and then searching for it. Once inside, you may see a “Simplify your sign-in” button towards the top (seen above). Tapping that will take you to a new page that’ll list out passwords you’ve saved with companies that Google has partnered with on passkeys. Each partner will provide a shortcut to help you then easily switch over from password to passkey.
Confused by all of this passkey talk? Well, we have an explainer right here. At that post, we talk about using your phone as a passkey, the combination of your computer and phone as a passkey, etc. You can even use your smartwatch as a passkey in some scenarios. Basically, your phone becomes a vehicle for logging you into things, thanks to it having a secure measure in place, like your fingerprint or a PIN or face unlock.
Google says these new partners should be live as early as today, and I am indeed seeing some of them through my Password Manager.
This post was last modified on January 30, 2024 4:24 pm