Google's Password Manager has received a significant update to compete with the new Apple password app and the best password managers that came with iOS 18

Previously Passkeys was limited to Google's Android Password Manager Desktop, Chromebook, and even iPhone Chrome apps were completely disconnected from these passkeys unless they went through the complicated process of scanning a special QR code

Frankly, this is the opposite of convenient and one of the key advantages of using passkeys in the first place Thankfully, this has changed with this update, allowing passkeys to be synced on Google Password Manager on all devices For the time being, this is available on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android, with ChromeOS currently in beta testing

iOS support is also planned, but Google has not given a definite timeline, only stating that it is “coming soon”

Cross-platform synchronization is not all that is changing, however Google has added a new six-digit PIN to the passkey, which must be entered when you start using the passkey on a new device So even if a hacker can access your Google account, they will not be able to use that passkey to access your other online accounts, unless you use an easy-to-understand PIN like 123456 or put it somewhere someone can find it

Google has made passkey the default sign-in option in recent months to draw users away from passwords There is a reason for that Passkeys are more secure than simple passwords or passwords that are reused across multiple accounts

The fact that passkeys are “passwordless” also means that they are more convenient, as they do not require you to remember different credentials and cannot be stolen through phishing attacks Nevertheless, it depends on the ability to access across platforms, something Google Password Manager was not very good at Fortunately, however, that seems to have changed