Every year, the Hasso Plattner Institute publishes a list of the Internet passwords most commonly used in Germany. 2022 occupied the passwords “123456” and “123456789‘ the first two places in an overall very uncreative top 10. It turns out that many people are annoyed by passwords and therefore assign the simplest combinations of numbers and letters. The main thing is that it is quick and the password is easy to remember.
Now, however, Google is offering an alternative way of logging into services such as “Google Maps” or “Gmail”: using a passkey. Behind this name is a simple registration procedure for users:
- If you want to log into Google on your laptop, tablet or PC, you will be prompted to look at your own smartphone.
- On the smartphone then the request to confirm the registration appears – in the same way as you unlock the device yourself, i.e. depending on the cell phone setup by Fingerprint, face recognition, pin, pattern or password.
The Passkey access is set up in the “Security” area in the Google account under “How to log in to Google” – if the option for the respective user already exists. As of today, Google has started offering the feature to users, writes the “Guardians“. At least from experience, new features are not activated for all users at the same time.
“Beginning of the End of Passwords”
Google called the new login the “beginning of the end of passwords.” That means: It is still possible to log in to Google in the classic way. In the future, however, the group, which operates the world’s most-visited website with the popular search engine, apparently only wants to rely on Passkey technology.
The trend is clearly pointing in the direction of Passkey. The technology behind it was developed in an alliance with the other tech giants Apple and Microsoft. Other providers already rely on Passkey, including the online marketplace Ebay and the payment service provider PayPal.
