Oliver Haslam·

Google, Apple, And Microsoft Are Working Together To Make Passwordless Sign-ins A Reality

In a new press release today Apple has confirmed that it is working with Google and Microsoft to expand support for passwordless sign-ins.

The trio will use the standard created by the FIDO Alliance and World Wide Web Consortium.

The trio are working towards ensuring that people can sign into accounts and apps in a new way, with Apple saying that password-only authentication is one of the biggest problems currently facing the internet in terms of security.

Password-only authentication is one of the biggest security problems on the web, and managing so many passwords is cumbersome for consumers, which often leads consumers to reuse the same ones across services. This practice can lead to costly account takeovers, data breaches, and even stolen identities. While password managers and legacy forms of two-factor authentication offer incremental improvements, there has been industry-wide collaboration to create sign-in technology that is more convenient and more secure.

With password-less sign-ins, users will take advantage of biometric authentication as well as device PIN codes to replace passwords. Apple says that approach is much improved over the use of passwords and legacy multi-factor systems including one-time passwords sent via SMS.

Apple says today’s announcement adds two new capabilities.

  1. Allow users to automatically access their FIDO sign-in credentials (referred to by some as a “passkey”) on many of their devices, even new ones, without having to reenroll every account.
  2. Enable users to use FIDO authentication on their mobile device to sign in to an app or website on a nearby device, regardless of the OS platform or browser they are running.

Another advantage of FIDO is that people will be able to sign into apps and services without needing to register new accounts, much like Apple already offers via Sign in with Apple.

Apple isn’t saying when the expanded FIDO support will be coming to its devices, but with WWDC just weeks away we can surely expect to learn more then.

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