Stable Chrome version gains support for FIDO-based passkeys

Chrome users on Windows 11, macOS and Android can use passkeys to log into sites without a password with the Stable M108 update. Passkeys work with the FIDO protocol and use, for example, the fingerprint scanner of smartphones.

After logging in to a website, Chrome users are asked whether they want to create a passkey for that site. When creating the passkey, the device asks the user to authenticate in the same way as when the user unlocks the device. On a smartphone or laptop, this can be done, for example, with the fingerprint scanner, writes Google.

If users have created such a passkey, they can use that passkey to log in on subsequent login attempts and they no longer have to enter the password. Desktop users can also log in with a passkey from a mobile phone, using QR codes. Users can manage their passkeys within the Windows and macOS versions of Chrome.

Before passkeys work, website administrators must add support through a WebAuthn API. Google also says it wants to bring passkeys to more devices, such as iOS and Chrome OS devices. Other companies, such as Microsoft and Apple, are also working on passwordless FIDO authentication.