1Password expands support for biometrics with passkeys addition

Password manager company 1Password has introduced support for passkeys, including those that use biometric authentication.

Writing in a blog post on Thursday, 1Password chief product officer (CPO) Steve Won says the password manager will support unlocking via passkeys starting in the summer. 

Won clarified that the company already supported biometrics as a second factor, but said that the move will aid in eliminating the password entirely.

“Passkeys are built on the same security foundation as our Secret Key – public key cryptography – but without requiring a password. This ensures strong security properties while being […] a lot more convenient to use.”

According to the CPO, passkeys are more secure than a password and unique by default, as they are generated and stored on user devices and never shared with the company’s cloud service.

“Passkeys are also resistant to phishing, and they have a full 256 bits of entropy to prevent cracking – providing even more protection than our Secret Key,” Won adds.

“They’re safeguarded by biometrics and hardware-level security. And we’re building them to be portable between all your devices and platforms.”

The new feature is partly a result of 1Password’s acquisition of authentication company Passage, which the password manager discussed in a recent post by CEO Jeff Shiner.

Article Topics

1Password  |  biometric authentication  |  biometrics  |  passkeys  |  password manager