Passkeys vs Passwords: A Better Login, Now Without the Catch
Passkeys have long promised a future beyond clumsy passwords, replacing strings of characters with cryptographic keys tied to your devices. Instead of typing a password, you authenticate with a fingerprint, face scan, or device PIN, and your device proves to the service that you own the correct private key. This design makes phishing far harder, because passkeys are bound to specific websites and apps rather than reusable secrets that can be tricked out of you. Yet there has been a major catch: unlike passwords, passkeys historically could not move freely between apps or platforms. If your credentials were locked into one password manager or ecosystem, switching tools meant starting from scratch. That lack of password manager portability has been a major brake on adoption—even among security-conscious users who otherwise see passkeys as clearly superior to passwords.
Google Password Manager Brings Passkey Import/Export to Android
Google is now laying the groundwork to remove that friction by adding passkey import and export to Google Password Manager on Android. A hidden interface, recently surfaced in testing, shows options to both move passkeys out of Google’s manager and bring them in. Under the hood, this relies on the Credential Exchange Protocol (CXP), an emerging FIDO Alliance standard designed specifically for secure passkey migration. Because Android depends on Google Play Services and Google Password Manager to orchestrate these exchanges, Google’s implementation is a pivotal step: once enabled, it should unlock passkey import/export for other Android-based managers like Samsung Pass as well. In practical terms, Android users will be able to switch password managers or devices without regenerating passkeys for every account, dramatically reducing lock-in and making passkey-first security more practical day to day.
Apple’s Passwords App Shows What True Passkey Portability Looks Like
Apple’s built-in Passwords app has already demonstrated how seamless passkey migration can work in practice. With recent updates, users can open Passwords, select Export Data to Another App, and move specific passkeys—or entire sets of credentials—into compatible password managers such as 1Password. On macOS, a similar option appears under the File menu, streamlining the process on desktops and laptops. The same Credential Exchange Protocol underpins imports as well, allowing passkeys from third-party apps to be brought into Apple’s manager via each app’s export feature. This two-way passkey import/export flow has convinced some reluctant users to finally embrace passkeys, knowing they are no longer locked to Apple’s ecosystem. Instead of treating passkeys as a one-way door, Apple’s approach turns them into portable assets, controllable by the user rather than the vendor.
Breaking Ecosystem Silos and Raising the Stakes for Password Managers
With both Apple and Google moving toward full passkey portability, a key adoption barrier is disappearing. Users can now treat passkeys more like traditional passwords in one crucial respect: they are no longer a reason to stay trapped in a single app or platform. This shift puts real competitive pressure on password managers. If switching services no longer risks losing your strongest credentials, features, usability, and security practices will matter more than ever. It also strengthens cross-platform authentication, letting people mix devices and ecosystems without juggling different login paradigms. As more major managers implement CXP, passkeys start to look less like an experimental upgrade and more like a mature, mainstream standard. The result is a healthier, more open authentication landscape in which users, not vendors, decide where their digital keys live.
