After Google and Apple, WhatsApp adopts “passkeys”

The Android version of Whatsapp puts an end to classic passwords by incorporating ‘Passkeys’ technology that allows you to connect to the platform via biometric authentication.

Last May, Google announced the ability to connect to a Google account without a password. A few months later, WhatsApp followed suit. In a post published on Monday, October 16, on Twitter, the platform announces the deployment of “passkeys” technology in the coming weeks.

The feature, which is currently being implemented, is only integrated into the Android version of Whatsapp at the moment. It allows users to identify themselves to their accounts without a password through biometric identification (fingerprint or facial recognition) of the device being used. For example, by activating Face ID on an iPhone, Windows Hello on a PC, or even the fingerprint sensor on an Android smartphone.

Microsoft and Apple have already adopted it

Concretely, this authentication method constitutes an alternative to the PIN code generated as part of a two-step identification system. The device creates a pair of encrypted keys, one private, which stays on the device, and the other public, which the app or website remembers. Every time they log in, the user simply has to do the same thing when they unlock their device.

Developed by Rapid Online Identity Alliance (FIDO Alliance) and the World Wide Web Consortium, passkeys may end up replacing passwords entirely as the new login standard. Provided that it is compatible with many websites and applications, which is not the case yet.

Google, Apple and Microsoft are leading this new, faster, more secure connection. The three technology giants announced, in May 2022, a Agreement to establish a “passkey” system.. The latter is already effective since iOS 16, the operating system that equips iPhones, as well as on Windows 11.