Google is currently experimenting with passkey support for Chrome and Android

Google revealed on Wednesday that it has taken another step toward a password-free future by adding support for passkey login to Android and Chrome. Passkeys, which allow you to use your phone’s or computer’s built-in authentication mechanisms instead of a standard password, has the backing of all major tech giants, with Apple, Google, and Microsoft promising to include the feature in their respective operating systems.

Passkeys are essentially credentials kept on a device, such as your phone or computer, that validates to a website or application that you are who you claim to be (though Google is still working on the passkey API for native Android apps). You authenticate yourself to the device, and it can then securely log in to sites and services you use without relying on a password that could be stolen, reused across multiple sites, or tricked into giving up to a bogus customer service agent or using on a bogus phishing site because you clicked the wrong link.

A passkey, unlike a password, cannot be readily stolen, and since it requires access to a physical device, it combines the security of hardware two-factor authentication with the familiarity of smartphone usage.

While the functionality is still mostly for early adopters, a stable release later this year will allow individuals to log in to compatible websites using their device’s fingerprint scanner or other authentication factors rather than a password.

Google announced the passkey in a post on the Android Developers Blog geared at both developers and device end users, who will be able to utilize the new feature in a variety of ways. Now that passkeys are being supported by all of the platforms that people use, developers have the motivation and a chance to ensure that they truly function before the features are made accessible to everyone.