Passkeys are a new technology providing a highly secure and convenient way to access your online accounts. Dashlane is the first password manager to offer an extension that works with passkeys to help you manage your online life. But since not all sites and apps are set up to use passkeys for login, you may not be able to use them as widely as you'd like.
Why do we need a new way to log in?
Currently, you prove your identity when logging in to a website by entering a password that only you know. But the process isn't always secure because people can make these mistakes:
- Create passwords that are simple and easy to remember but also easy to hack
- Reuse the same password on different websites
- Share passwords accidentally with the wrong people, such as in a phishing scam
Also, the websites you use often store your passwords on their servers. Hackers sometimes get access to these servers and compromise the passwords of all users.
Using a password manager like Dashlane has always been the best way to protect your online identity. But now, Dashlane is leading the way in using passkeys as an even safer and easier way to manage your life online.
How do passkeys help?
Passkeys are a form of "passwordless authentication," meaning you can prove your identity when you log in to a website without a password. Instead, Dashlane acts as an "authenticator" and tells the website that you are who you say you are.
When you access a website for the first time using passkey technology, you enter your username as usual. Dashlane creates two "keys" that connect you securely to the site:
- The first is a "private" key that we store safely in our app
- The second is a "public" key that we send to the server of the website you want to access
The public key isn't a secret but is useless without the private key. And the private key is protected by Dashlane's unique security system. When you log in to a website using a passkey, Dashlane uses the public and the private keys together to connect you.
Access your accounts with passkeys saved in Dashlane
Dashlane is preparing to help you manage your online life with sites using passkeys. But for the moment, only a few websites and platforms have the technology to do so.
If you want to get a taste of a future without passwords, you can test the process:
- Log in to the latest version of the Dashlane extension.
Check if you have the latest version - Go to a website that uses passkey technology. We recommend WebAuthn's demo site.
Visit WebAuthn - Enter a username and select Register. Dashlane asks you if you want to create a new key for this site.
- Select Confirm, enter your Master Password, and select Unlock. Dashlane creates a passkey for the site.
- Select Authenticate and then Confirm to access your account.
The next time you access that website, Dashlane asks if you want to use the passkey you saved. All you have to do is confirm, and we'll take care of the rest.
The transition from passwords to passkeys
As the online world transitions to passkeys, you'll probably use a mix of passkeys and passwords to log in to your different accounts. On some websites, you'll be able to choose whether you log in with a passkey or a password.
With Dashlane, you can use either type of login. When you go to websites that are set up to use both passkeys and passwords, you can choose how you log in. When you select the login field for one of these sites, a pop-up will open showing any logins you've saved in Dashlane for the site.
You can select a password login, shown with a lock icon, and Dashlane autofills your login information before you sign in. Or you can select a passkey login, shown with a key icon, and we'll log you in directly. You can also select Use a different passkey to use a passkey that is saved somewhere other than Dashlane, like your browser.
Note: Dashlane is using a technology called "Conditional UI" to navigate the transition to passkeys. The UI, or "user interface," is the part of the webpage you interact with when logging in. With Conditional UI, the user interface adapts to the type of login you're using. For websites that use both passkeys and passwords, you see one user interface but can use either type of login to access your account.
Have you noticed bugs or problems using passkeys in Dashlane?
Give feedback to Customer Support
Next steps
The Dashlane extension can currently use passkeys with Chrome, Firefox, and other Chromium browsers, like Edge and Opera. We hope to make passkey technology available for our mobile apps soon.
Feel free to try on other websites using passkeys. But remember, there may be some kinks to work out. You'll be able to use Dashlane to manage your passkeys in more places as more websites and platforms start using this technology.
Want to know more about Dashlane's role in the passwordless future?
Read our recent blog post about passkeys
Passkeys use a set of standards known as WebAuthn.