Google makes huge change to billions of Gmail accounts – and people are switching

PASSWORD’S might be joining the Google graveyard after the tech giant introduced a brand new feature last night.

Google has created passkeys, a more secure type of ‘password’.

“Passkeys are a more convenient and safer alternative to passwords,” Google wrote in a blog post announcing the feature.

“They work on all major platforms and browsers, and allow users to sign in by unlocking their computer or mobile device with their fingerprint, face recognition or a local PIN.”

These days, tech savvy users have to create increasingly abstract and detailed passwords in order for their accounts to remain secure.

Scammers and their sophisticated phishing schemes have paved the way for this password-less future.

From here on out, people are expected to rely far more on their own biometric data to access their accounts.

Apple did the same thing in 2013, when it first unveiled its finger print scanning iPhone 5s and later with its face ID feature in 2017 with the iPhone X.

It’s also important to note that this biometric data is not shared with Google – or any other third party – and is encrypted so that no one can access it.

One Google user, who seemed keen on the idea, tweeted: “Great step forward for any people who might have been lazy with securing their accounts because 2FA can be inconvenient. Using biometrics is easy and fast so get on it.”

Another Twitter user wrote that we are all one step closer to “saying RIP to passwords”.

Unlike traditional passwords, Google’s passkeys exist only on your devices, so they can’t be written down or accidentally passed on to a cyber fraudster.

When you add a passkey to your Google Account, you will be asked for it every time you sign in or perform “sensitive actions” on your account, like changing important settings.

Not only can they replace passwords (they don’t have to), but it will also replace Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) and SMS Verification security methods.

Although Google users can have passkeys on most of their accounts starting today, the tech giant has cautioned that they won’t work on all of its products just yet.

Google said: “Passkeys are still new and it will take some time before they work everywhere.”

“However, creating a passkey today still comes with security benefits as it allows us to pay closer attention to the sign-ins that fall back to passwords.”

---

We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at tech@the-sun.co.uk

---