Passkeys have been used a billion times, says Google as it makes a pitch to 'ditch' passwords

Google passkeys

Two years ago, Google announced passkeys, a more secure way for users to log in to their accounts. Since then passkeys have been gradually introduced and now Google has revealed that passkeys have been used to authenticate users more than 1 billion times across over 400 million Google accounts.

Heather Adkins, vice president, Security Engineering, Google said that on a daily basis passkeys are already used for authentication on Google Accounts more often than legacy forms of two-factor authentications such as SMS one-time passwords (OTPs) and app-based OTPs (such as Authenticator apps) combined. “Passkeys are easy to use and phishing resistant, only relying on a fingerprint, face scan or a pin making them 50% faster than passwords,” said Adkins in a blog post.

Passkeys have been available on other apps and services as well. Apple has introduced passkeys for Apple IDs. Amazon too has announced support for passkeys whereas WhatsApp and X have also made passkey support available.

How to set up a passkey for your Google account

The one big benefit of passkeys is that they are stored on your device and rely on biometric authentication. Passkeys are more secure, safe and less hack-prone. If you want to create a passkey for Google account, then here's what you need to do.

When signing in to your Google account, you'll get a prompt to create a passkey. This will involve using your device's fingerprint scanner or face unlock. Follow the on-screen prompts to setup the passkey.

Once you have created a passkey,  instead of a password, Gmail and other Google account will show a familiar login screen. You'll now have to use your fingerprint or face scan to verify your identity.