Android 14 might get rid of passwords for good
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The upcoming Android 14 platform will allow third-party apps to handle password keys when it releases later this year, one of the top enterprise password managers has revealed.
Dashlane already supports passkeys, but only within the web browser extension. In the company’s blog post (opens in new tab)noted Dashlane that “mobile platforms such as Android and iOS will require changes to allow third-party applications such as Dashlane to manage passkeys. These are exactly the changes included in [the] developer preview of Android 14”.
Both Apple and Google introduced passkey support for their respective mobile systems in 2022, but they can only be stored in their own password managers.
Passwords vs passwords
It seems that passwords are replacing passwords, and they are considered much more secure and user-friendly. They work through two sets of encryption keys – one public and one private. The public key is stored in the cloud of the respective service and the private key is only stored on your device. No one will ever know this last key and it remains encrypted when both keys are combined to unlock access to your account.
You don’t need to remember these keys, they are generated automatically by your device and are unique to each account. All you need to create them and authorize their use is your biometric data, such as your fingerprint.
As Dashlane puts it, “Passkeys are phishing-resistant credentials based on FIDO standards and are the future of online authentication, designed as a more secure and user-friendly replacement for passwords.”
FIDO (opens in new tab) is the alliance that sets the standards for passwordless technologies, and passkeys must meet them WebAuthn Specifications. It has the support of all major tech players – Apple, Google, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon and so on.
Other popular apps that currently support password keys include 1Password, another popular password manager, eBay, PayPal, and Best Buy. It is expected that eventually every major app will make the transition to passwordless working.
If you want to test how easy it is to use passkeys, you can create a free demo account on the official WebAuthn site (opens in new tab).
- Since passwords still exist, make sure you create the most secure ones with a password generator