Most people now know that passkeys are better than passwords for protecting online credentials. Almost every notable technology company supports this protocol, including Apple, Google, and Microsoft. Additionally, despite being a laggard, adoption has increased dramatically in the last year, with password manager Dashlane, for example, recently reporting a 400% increase in usage since the beginning of 2024. Still, not everyone knows that there is no need to depend. You need to set a password to protect your online identity, and transferring passkeys between platforms isn’t as easy as you might think.
That’s why the FIDO Alliance, a coalition of organizations behind the technology, is working to facilitate just that. The group released draft specifications for the Credential Exchange Protocol (CXP) and Credential Exchange Format (CXF) on Tuesday. Once adopted by the industry, these two standards will allow all passkeys and passwords to be securely and seamlessly moved between different apps. And the platform.
With industry giants collaborating on this effort (Apple, Google, 1Password, Bitwarden, Dashlane, to name a few), we may be looking at a future where today’s password managers are used. is very high. There’s no reason why you can’t switch platforms, especially if you’re using one of the first-party offerings from Apple or Google. That’s very good.
“It is important that users be able to choose their preferred credential management platform and switch credential providers securely and painlessly,” FIDO Alliance said. “Until now, no standards existed for securely moving credentials, and passwords and other credentials were often moved in clear text.”
The CXP and CXF standards are not yet ready for prime time. The FIDO Alliance plans to collect feedback before publishing the final set of specifications and giving permission to members to implement the technology.
If you buy something through links in this article, we may earn a commission.
