The news of Android 14 are just beginning to be made known, but some are already interesting. The latest: native support for access keys in third-party applications. Password manager Dashlane today announced native support for access keys in a future version of the app.
Already pushed by Apple, access keys could well kill off passwords. Safer and more practical to use, they have all the possibilities for now. Google seems to want to do the same with native support for access keys in third-party apps, given the first Developer Preview of Android 14 released last month. The opportunity for password managers to get started with access keys on our Android smartphones, such as Dashlane.
What would the access keys be used for in Android 14?
As a reminder, access keys are an alternative to classic passwords. TO “master keyit is an identification key associated with an identifier and is fully encrypted twice, once on the identification server side and once on the user’s device. When you want to connect to a service, you don’t send an access key directly, but a token that is generated automatically and from the latter. The operation may resemble authenticator apps like Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator in some ways.
Several large digital companies are now considering this authentication solution, which could eventually replace passwords. These access keys can be activated by facial recognition on your smartphone, biometric sensor on your laptop, a code, a pattern, etc.
In the first Android 14 preview build dedicated to app developers, Google added native passkey support for third-party apps. This will allow password managers to create and use passwords on smartphones.
Dashlane will natively integrate access keys into our smartphones
In a blog post published on March 1, Dashlane says that it wants to add access keys in a future version of its Android app. On how this will be possible, Dashlane writes that “The user can simply create a passcode using their fingerprint instead of entering a password. The fingerprint links the authentication action to the user of the device, preventing anyone else from creating and using access keys on that specific device.“On top of that, the password manager posted a short video on Twitter”manifestationto show how it could be.
Manage Passcodes with Dashlane on Android later this year 🎉 #fido # stopcocks #without password pic.twitter.com/myFKDPAYF7
—Dashlane (@dashlane) February 23, 2023
It wouldn’t really change much for the user, as the Dashlane window that will open will look very similar to what we know today, especially with the Google password manager. Dashlane seems to believe this and even adds that the access keys “are phishing-resistant credentials based on FIDO standards and represent the future of online authentication».
For its part, 1Password also works with passkeys. In a blog post published almost a month ago, this other password manager also announced future support for access keys, without specifying if this will be the case in Android 14 (the operating system that is just beginning its testing phases).
At the moment, the final version of Android 14 is scheduled for next August. This support from third-party applications is a good thing, as it will stop Google from being the only entity that can manage and store our access codes on our Android smartphones.
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