How To Manage Passkeys

You can manage your passkeys by storing them in a password manager that supports them. By storing your passkeys in a password manager, you’ll ensure that you can access and manage them from any device.

Continue reading to learn how a password manager makes managing your passkeys a seamless experience. 

What Is a Passkey?

A passkey is a cryptographic key that can be used to log in to accounts without requiring you to enter a password or a second form of authentication. Passkeys only work on websites and applications that support them. Passkeys have to be enabled in the account’s security settings in order for the user to be able to log in with them.

Passkeys are made up of a public key and a private key, both of which are required for you to log in to an account. The public key is stored with the company you have the account with and the private key is stored locally on your device. Together, these keys authenticate who you are. When you go to log in to an account that has passkeys enabled, the account server sends a “challenge” to the authenticator, which can be a phone, tablet, computer, web browser or password manager. The authenticator then uses the private key it has stored to solve the challenge and sends a response back. This is also known as “signing” the data, which confirms your ownership of the private key, verifies your identity and enables you to log in to your account without having to enter a password. The private key is never revealed in the login process.

What Is a Password Manager?

A password manager is a tool used to generate, manage and securely store passwords. Recently, some password managers have also added the ability to store passkeys so users are able to log in to their accounts seamlessly with either passwords or passkeys. Good password managers also come with the ability to store more than just passwords and passkeys, such as files, identification cards, images and more. 

Individuals who use password managers to store passwords don’t worry about remembering multiple passwords. The only password they need to remember is their master password, which acts as the key to enter their secure digital vault. 

How Password Managers Help You Manage Passkeys

A password manager helps you manage your passkeys by storing them in an encrypted digital vault. To fully understand how password managers help you manage passkeys, you have to understand how passkeys work.

When a passkey is generated on a website or application, the passkey is made up of a public key and a private key. The public key is stored on the company’s end, while the private key is stored locally on the device where your passkey was created. This means you won’t be able to log in to the account you created your passkey from on any other device if you use traditional methods. This is where a password manager will help. 

When you use a password manager while creating a passkey, the password manager handles the passkey creation request so it can be saved to your vault. Once a passkey is stored in your password vault, you can access and use it across multiple browsers and Operating Systems (OS), meaning you’re not limited to logging in to an account with a passkey from a single device. An added benefit to using a password manager to store your passkeys is that you can also share it with other users, just like any other record in your vault.

Can I Manage Passkeys in a Browser Password Manager?

Technically, yes you can manage passkeys in a browser password manager – but not only are browser password managers not secure, this limits where you can log in from. For example, if you use Chrome as your browser but have to use a different browser like Safari to log in to an account, you won’t be able to because you won’t have the passkey to log in, since it’s stored in a separate browser. 

This same problem exists if you store your passkeys in iCloud Keychain. If you want to log in to an account that has passkeys enabled but is stored in the Apple ecosystem, using a device that isn’t a part of that ecosystem, like a Windows computer, means you won’t be able to log in to your accounts that have passkeys enabled.

The best way to store and manage your passkeys is in a dedicated password manager that supports them like Keeper Password Manager. As long as you have the password manager browser extension installed, you can access your passkeys from anywhere, regardless of what device or browser you use.

Use Keeper To Manage Your Passkeys

Passwords aren’t going away anytime soon. That’s why if you plan to use passkeys now or in the near future, a password manager like Keeper Security is essential to manage both your passwords and passkeys, with the ability to log in from anywhere and on any device. 

Start managing your passkeys seamlessly with Keeper today to see for yourself just how easily and securely you can log in to your accounts.