Somewhat ironically, the future of 1Password is passwordless login. The company plans to launch its “Passkeys” feature this summer, eliminating the need to memorize a master password and increasing user security across the board.
Passkeys utilize advanced public key cryptography to authenticate a user’s identity. It sounds complicated, but the user experience is very straightforward. Instead of memorizing and writing passwords, your devices will generate unique passkeys for every app and website. These passkeys can only be utilized when you verify your identity through Face ID, a fingerprint scan, or by scanning a QR code with your phone.
As a 1Password user, you don’t need to interact with passwords very often. The 1Password software retains, encrypts, and auto-fills login information for you. Still, you need to memorize a master password to unlock the 1Password interface—Passkeys will eliminate this master password.
Getting rid of master passwords will streamline the 1Password login process. You won’t be asked to enter your master password every few weeks, as you can rely entirely on biometric login. And when you need to log in on a new device, you can simply scan a QR code with your phone or tablet.
Additionally, Passkeys provide increased security for your 1Password account. Phishing and hacking attempts are much more difficult when a victim doesn’t have a password to steal! (And if you don’t believe me, just look at the LastPass scandal. Hackers stole encrypted LastPass user data, which they can decrypt by guessing users’ master passwords!)
Note that Passkeys technology is developed by the FIDO Alliance, which includes major companies like Google, Apple, and Microsoft. We believe that this technology will grow incredibly common over the next few years, as the benefits to user security are too difficult to ignore.
Also, 1Password’s implementation of Passkeys isn’t the bog standard. Other companies may find different ways to verify users, especially in the enterprise market, where hardware security keys are already fairly common.
The 1Password Passkey experience is set to launch this summer. If you want to be first in line for this technology, join 1Password’s “passwordless newsletter.”
Source: 1Password
