Password manager 1Password will soon make it possible to store and sync passkeys across devices and platforms.

After a teaser in early February, the time has come: From June 6th, 1Password will finally support passkeys on its system. Users can then store and manage them, synced across platforms and devices.

Practical

To access the beta version of this feature, you must download the 1Password beta browser extension for Safari, Firefox, or Chromium browsers (like Chrome or Edge). Mobile passkey support is still under development and not available at this time.

Replacing your master password from 1Password itself with a passkey is also not included yet. However, it is not too long in coming; According to Chief Product Officer Steve Won, that’s something for July 2023.

who and what

The technology behind Passkeys was developed by FIDO. This open consortium for companies (mainly) in the technology sector has the mission to relegate passwords to the digital past and strongly advocates biometric logins such as face recognition, fingerprint or voice recognition. Not only is 1Password a member, but Apple, Amazon, Google, Lenovo, Meta, PayPal, Samsung, Visa, and American Express all have membership cards. In other words, the password manager is in good company.

Passkeys are therefore a stronger alternative to passwords and even two-step verification. There is no longer a registered login and that gives hackers and phishers far fewer options. After all, you can’t steal or copy codes that don’t exist.

Unlike some big names and their login syncing (Google Password Manager or Apple’s iCloud Keychain), 1Password lets you store and manage your logins across multiple devices and platforms. In the current open beta, you can even share your passkeys with people you—of course—trust. Of course, this always happens at your own risk.

future of passwords

Not the whole world will go 100 percent to passkeys right away. 1Password stays true to its name and continues to support passwords. For now, we can still celebrate World Password Day to our heart’s content on the first Thursday in May.