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1Password passkey support launches on June 6 – check out the videos [U]

We’ve been waiting for 1Password passkey support since last November, when the company first announced plans to include it. We learned a little more in an exclusive interview with the company’s CEO earlier this month, and we now know exactly when it will launch.

The company has revealed that passkeys will go live within 1Password on June 6. Unlocking 1Password itself with a Passkey will possible the following month. Video demos (below) show how the security feature will work …

Your quick passkeys refresher

Passkeys authenticate you to apps and websites the same way that you make Apple Pay transactions. Instead of prompting you for a password, you’ll be asked to use Face ID (or Touch ID) to verify your identity. It works like this:

  • A website or app asks you to identify yourself, and prove your identity.
  • Your iPhone receives that request, and activates Face ID.
  • If your face matches, your iPhone tells the website who you are,
    and that it has confirmed your identity.

While that doesn’t sound very different from letting Keychain log you in, it’s in fact a completely different process. Keychain authenticates you in order to autofill your password, while Passkeys replace passwords. All the app or site knows is that your biometric device confirmed your identity.

1Password passkey support

1Password CEO Jeff Shiner recently told us that users won’t really notice much difference between autofilling passwords, and using passkeys. That’s a deliberate decision intended to keep things simply for users.

Shiner said the company wants 1Password to be “seamless for the end user, whether it’s with a passkey or a password.” He also mentioned that 1Password will play an important role in educating users about how passkeys work, as some people may be “worried if it’s not secure enough” because passkeys seem “too easy.”

The Verge reports that the feature will go live on June 6.

Starting from June 6th this year, anyone with a 1Password account will be able to save and manage their passkeys — a biometric-based login technology that allows users to ditch passwords in favor of their device’s own authentication.

1Password has also said that users will be able to replace their master password with a passkey if desired. This will be available sometime in July.

Check out the videos below to see how it works.

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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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