Live data from Hacker News

Passkeys are now enabled by default for Google users

blog.google

21–30 of 684 posts

Re: Passkeys are now enabled by default for Google users

#21
post #13

As a user I still don't understand this. What happens if there's a house fire or something and all my devices where I'm logged in with Google break? How do I log into my account again?

To add, it is pretty poor there is no FAQ linked to from that post to answer basic non-technical questions as to how this is intended to be used.

I assume as a technical person, the answer is I should have a backup device with a friend and/or store my passkeys somehow on my Apple or Microsoft or password manager account as well.

But it needs more explanation in detail from Google!

Re: Passkeys are now enabled by default for Google users

#24

This is an interesting direction. It's worth noting that biometrics, like fingerprints or facial recognition, aren't really 'secrets'. They can be observed or leveraged without a users knowledge or consent, and in many ways function more like a username than a password.

Don't they need both physical access to device + fingerprints/face?

Re: Passkeys are now enabled by default for Google users

#25

Isn't it obvious that logging in with your face or your fingerprint is less secure? Sure, it's convenient, but any thug can just forcefully unlock your device.

In case od data leak - you cannot change your face, or fingerprints. You can change passwords though.

Re: Passkeys are now enabled by default for Google users

#26
post #13

As a user I still don't understand this. What happens if there's a house fire or something and all my devices where I'm logged in with Google break? How do I log into my account again?

You go through.... account recovery?

Like if you lose your password today?

Re: Passkeys are now enabled by default for Google users

#29
post #23

"To use passkeys, you just use a fingerprint, face scan or pin to unlock your device, and they are 40% faster than passwords — and rely on a type of cryptography that makes them more secure. " Who wrote this sentence? It's just a mess.

also, "ah yes, a several digit pin, famously more secure than a same-length password that adds even as little as letters".

Re: Passkeys are now enabled by default for Google users

#30
post #13

As a user I still don't understand this. What happens if there's a house fire or something and all my devices where I'm logged in with Google break? How do I log into my account again?

Passkeys are typically synced to cloud storage.
Post reply on HN