How to set up passkeys with Google Password Manager

Passwords are so yesterday. Passkeys are all the rage or will be, soon. Over time, changing your account logins to a passkey will be the norm. Passkeys take the cryptographical mumbo-jumbo out of your hands — all you have to do is unlock your device to sign in to all your accounts. As more online services support passkeys, you might find yourself at a loss when it comes to which of your accounts need updating. Fortunately, if you use Google Password Manager, you can stay on top of it with a single glance and, more importantly, make the switch with just a few taps. Here’s how.

Sorry, what are passkeys again?

We’ve got a full explainer on what passkeys are, but the crash course version is that most of the tech industry — Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, the typical big corporate players that are in the security-focused FIDO Alliance — has been working to get all of us over the futile act of remembering passwords (much less setting up easy giveaways like “password123”) by having account services communicate a secret hash with the phone that you’re logging in.

The service generates an encryption key for the phone to store. Whenever the device logs in, the service issues a test with an anticipated solution. The device solves the test with the encryption key and sends the solution back, authenticating the user into the service.

The crucial element is that your phone, a physical item that you possess, becomes the main roadblock against malicious actors bashing their way into your accounts and not a bunch of credentials flying between modems and servers. A passkey stored on a single device can be used to authenticate access to a service on multiple devices so long as they are connected to each other via Bluetooth. Dedicated security devices called security keys can also be used to store passkeys in the place of phones — we’ve also got an explainer if you want to know more about those.

Related

Best security keys: Secure your laptops, smartphones, and apps from hackers

The best security keys are compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux and provide a physical layer of protection against intrusions.

How Google Password Manager helps you switch to passkeys

In January 2024, Google announced its Password Manager would begin integrating a workflow to let users know which account credentials they’ve saved with the service are eligible to be upgraded to passkeys. It will also link them directly to the account settings page for each relevant service to let them immediately switch. The feature technically debuted in December as a Feature Drop exclusive to its Pixel phones from the Pixel 5a to all later devices, including Pixel Fold and Pixel Tablet, but the company says it will be working to expand the interface to other surfaces in due time.

Which services will Google Password Manager track for passkey upgrades?

Google stated that Password Manager would work with accounts on these services from the beginning:

TikTok is also set to join this list as some point.

How to upgrade to passkeys with Google Password Manager

On your eligible device, take the following steps:

1. Access your Google Account settings. You can do this by:
   • Opening system settings, select the Google section;
   • Then tap Manage your Google Account, or;
   • Open any Google-branded app, tap your avatar, and then Manage your Google Account.
2. From the carousel, select the Security header, then scroll all the way down and tap Password Manager.
3. Select the Simplify your sign-in box, underneath Password Checkup. If you’re not on an eligible device, you will not see this box.
4. From here, you’ll be able to see which of your accounts can have their passwords switched out for passkeys.
5. Tap any one of them to be taken to the associated service’s settings workflow for doing that.
6. In setting up the passkey, Android will confirm whether you intend to set up a passkey for the account, and then have you perform your device unlock procedure to complete the process.

After you’re done switching to a passkey, the service will be listed with a check mark. From this page, you can also try out a demo of the process to learn about what you need to do.

Most services will support multiple passkeys per account, which is handy if you use a work phone alongside your personal phone. However, do read through your site’s passkey policies, just in case they limit passkey access to a single device.

How to log in to an account with a passkey

Once you’ve set up your passkey for a site or app, you might want to try logging out, and then logging back in. Google Password Manager may pop up a prompt noting that it has saved a passkey on your device for this service and nudge you to authenticate with your primary device unlock method.

If it doesn’t do that, the site will certainly have a button that says “Sign in with Passkey” or something to that effect on which you can press. If you own and have set up passkeys for multiple accounts on the site, you’ll be asked to select the account you wish to use before you authenticate. Once you do that, you’ll be logged in.