Google announced that the latest update to Password Manager now enables users to sync their passkeys across multiple devices. Previously, Google passkeys could only be easily saved to Password Manager on Android, limiting cross-device utility. Scanning a QR code on an Android device was previously required to use passkeys on non-native platforms. The update makes it possible to use Google Password Manager on desktop systems that run Windows, macOS and Linux. ChromeOS is currently being beta tested and Google says iOS support is “coming soon.”

Once saved, the passkeys will automatically sync across the user’s devices, “making signing in as easy as scanning your fingerprint,” Google explains in a blog post that calls passkeys “safer than passwords and easier to use, letting you use your fingerprint, face, or screen lock to securely sign in to apps and websites — moving us one step closer to a passwordless future.”

To create passkeys and access saved ones across multiple devices, one must use a new Google Password Manager PIN. “This PIN adds an additional layer of security to ensure your passkeys are end-to-end encrypted and can’t be accessed by anyone, not even Google,” the search giant says.

Engadget explains that a passkey is different than a password in that “a passkey is a digital credential that allows users to sign in to an account without using a password.”

Google implemented passkeys across its software last year, as did Microsoft, with Windows 11, and Apple on iOS 16. In addition to Google’s productivity software, its passkeys can work with Amazon, PayPal and WhatsApp, Engadget writes, pointing out that “Google Password Manager is built right into Chrome and Android devices.”

“Passkeys are paving the way for a passwordless future by allowing you to use the biometric or screen lock functionality of your smartphone, tablet, or computer to sign in to websites or apps,” ZDNet reports, adding that while passkeys are relatively new, the process of using them is already familiar, as it is nearly identical to using passwords: “You create a passkey when prompted — but now it is saved and synced automatically across all devices when logged into the same Google account.”