Google Accounts will prompt users at login to set up passkeys

After launching in May, Google will soon actively encourage users to set up passkeys for their Gmail, YouTube, and other first-party accounts.

With passkeys, signing in to your Google Account just involves entering a username and then using your phone or computer’s existing password (PIN code, fingerprint, face, etc.) to confirm the attempt.

Previously, the setup process involved manually going to g.co/passkeys. Google will soon start showing prompts to create passkeys the “next time you sign in to your Google Account.” You have to create a Google Account passkey for each phone, tablet, laptop, and desktop, while passkeys obviate the need for Google’s 2-Step Verification (2SV).

As part of this launch, users can still just use their password over passkeys by turning off the “Skip password when possible” option. If a device is lost, you can revoke Google Account passkeys in settings.

Since launch, Google has found that “over 64% of our users find passkeys easier to use compared to traditional methods like passwords and 2-Step Verification (2SV).” People also think passkeys are easier because the sign-in process is said to be “40% faster than passwords.”

Google is working with partners “to enable passkeys across Chrome and Android platforms.” The goal is to kill passwords, which can be shared, phished, and exposed in data breaches. That is not possible with passkeys and is why the industry is pushing this passwordless future so hard.