Bitwarden now supports passkeys on iOS devices
Bitwarden is starting to bring passwordless support to mobile
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Popular freepassword managerBitwarden has revealed it now supports passkeys on iOS devices.
Passkeys can be used in beta viaAppleTestFlight, which allows developers to try out test versions of their apps.
The news follows the recent trend of password managers brining passkey support to mobile, includingKeeperandProton Pass. Bitwarden addedpasskey support to its desktop browser extension last year, and now users can create and store passkeys on their iOS app too. Android support is yet to arrive, however.
Passkeys and password managers
Bitwarden users can alsologin to their own vaults using passkeysinstead of a master password. However, this feature is also still in beta, and only available on the web vault, not in any apps.
Passkeys are a new form of credentials that are set to replace passwords. They rely on cryptographic keys, the private half of which is not know to anyone - not even the user. For this reason, they are considered phishing-resistant.
They are also touted as being more convenient, as all the user typically requires to use them is whatever they use to lock their mobile device, such as their fingerprint, face, or PIN.
The FIDO Alliance governs the technological standards for passkeys - a cross-industry association that has most of big tech on its board, including Apple,GoogleandMicrosoft, as well as other password managers.
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In addition to the big tech brands, only a handful of sites and services support passkeys as a means for their users to login to their accounts, such as PayPal, eBay, BestBuy, andWhatsApp, to name a few. It is expected, however, than more and more services will support them over time.
Using a third-party manager for passkeys in iOS means that users can login to their supported accounts with passkeys on any device and platform that their manager is installed on. Using Apple to store passkeys means that they can only be used within the tech giant’s ecosystem.
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Lewis Maddison is a Reviews Writer for TechRadar. He previously worked as a Staff Writer for our business section, TechRadar Pro, where he had experience with productivity-enhancing hardware, ranging from keyboards to standing desks. His area of expertise lies in computer peripherals and audio hardware, having spent over a decade exploring the murky depths of both PC building and music production. He also revels in picking up on the finest details and niggles that ultimately make a big difference to the user experience.
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