Windows 11 will soon get a big upgrade for managing passkeys thanks to a new partnership with 1Password. This teamwork will let people use their existing 1Password vaults to store and manage passkeys, as well as save new passkeys directly in the password manager.

The new integration is live in the Windows 11 Insider Previews, but isn’t available yet on the stable releases of Windows. First, you will need to install the 1Password Beta app on Windows 11. From there, just go to Settings > Passkeys > Advanced options in Windows to turn on the plugin credential manager.

Once you’re done with that, switch the feature on and verify your identity with Windows Hello. You can use facial recognition, a fingerprint scan, or a PIN for security. Once that is enabled, you can start using passkeys already saved in 1Password or store new ones without hassle.

Signing in with a passkey should be much easier with this update. When visiting a website that has a passkey saved in 1Password, you can just select that passkey, and Windows Hello will quickly verify your identity to complete the login.

Saving new passkeys is just as simple. On a website that supports passkeys, you can choose to create one for your account. When you pick the option to save it to your credential manager, you just need to confirm with Windows Hello, and the passkey will be safely stored in 1Password.

Keep in mind that 1Password’s passkey support isn’t just for Windows. The company has been a strong supporter of passkeys and has added them to many platforms. 1Password lets users save and use passkeys on Mac, iOS, Android, and popular browsers like Chrome, Edge, Brave, and Safari, so there are plenty more to choose from if you don’t just want it on Windows.

The difference is how they’re integrated. For example, 1Password doesn’t use the native Keychain API on MacOS, but it still works the way you’d want it to. Luckily, passkeys stored in 1Password sync across all devices, so you’re basically adding Windows to your passkey ecosystem to simplify everything.

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This partnership also has a bigger effect on other credential manager developers. Windows is encouraging developers to integrate with Windows 11 to help users with passkeys. Detailed instructions for setting this up are available through a special API, showing that Windows wants to create a more open and connected system for secure logins. This could mean more options for users when it comes to managing passkeys, but we’ll have to wait for developers to integrate these features on their apps.

This is a significant update to Windows, even though it is currently still in Beta. If you have a 1Password account and don’t participate in the betas, you should integrate it when it becomes available to everyone. Just keep in mind that there was no mention of Windows 10, and since Microsoft is discontinuing support, we might not get 1Password integration on the old OS.

Source: Microsoft