Apple, Google and Microsoft join forces for passwordless login

In the context: Tech companies have been trying to get rid of passwords for years. Users often have too many passwords to keep track of and are not very secure on their own. This week, Apple, Google and Microsoft announced plans to strengthen their collaboration to make it easier to sign in without a password between their platforms.

Google and Microsoft already support the FIDO Alliance in its quest build a set of login protocols without a password. Apple has also joined in World Password Day. All three tech giants pledge Simplify sign-in across all your devices and operating systems over the next year.

In 2019, Microsoft began using FIDO certification to increase the number of sites and services that use Windows Hello for PIN, fingerprint, and facial sign-in. However, this only works for Windows. In the same year, Google introduced the ability to use Android phones as physical two-factor authentication devices using FIDO.

The new plan will allow users of Microsoft, Android or Apple devices to use FIDO access keys to sign in to websites and apps on operating systems and browsers without passwords. For example, a user will be able to log in to a site in Google Chrome running Windows by simply unlocking their iPhone. Users will also be able to easily migrate their FIDO credentials for all their logins to new devices.

This movement promises logins that are not only easier but more secure than passwords. The FIDO Alliance says its passwords, which use public-key cryptography, are nearly impossible to forge and only remain on users’ devices. Maybe then we will stop counting “123456” as the most common password year after year.