FIDO Alliance Joins Forces with Password Managers, Microsoft, and Google to Develop Passkey Export and Import Functionality

The FIDO Alliance, in collaboration with password manager developers including Microsoft and Google, is spearheading the development of an export and import functionality for passkeys. Passkeys, heralded as the future by leading password managers, are designed to replace traditional passwords with encrypted keys for a more convenient and secure user experience.

Traditionally, once a passkey is created on a device, it cannot be viewed, exported, downloaded, or copied. However, password managers like 1Password offer cloud sync features for passkeys, meaning users need to create a passkey for an account only once, rather than on every device or for every account on a device.

Due to current technical standard limitations, passkeys created on different platforms cannot be migrated. For example, a passkey created on Windows 11 cannot be moved to 1Password.

To address this issue, the FIDO Alliance is developing new standards for seamless passkey migration, reflecting the real-world needs. The new drafts include the Credential Exchange Protocol (CXP) and the Credential Exchange Format (CXF), both aimed at transferring passkeys and other types of credentials.

FIDO has partnered with 1Password, Bitwarden, NordPass, Dashlane, Microsoft, and Google, all of whom have committed to supporting the new standards upon release. Although Apple was not explicitly mentioned, as a member of the FIDO Alliance, it is expected to also offer support.

Looking ahead, it's anticipated that a passkey created on Windows 11 could be effortlessly migrated to Bitwarden or macOS, or a passkey created on iOS (via Apple KeyChain) could be transferred to 1Password or Windows 11.

For users, this development not only promises more convenient passkey usage but also a significantly improved experience, as it eliminates the need to individually create a passkey on different devices.