27 July 2023
Today, we are excited to announce the beta release of Credential Manager with a finalized API surface, making it suitable for use in production. As we previously announced, Credential Manager is a new Jetpack library that allows app developers to simplify their users' authentication journey, while also increasing security with support of passkeys.
Authentication provides secure access to personalized experiences, but it has challenges. Passwords, which are widely used today, are difficult to use, remember and are not always secure. Many applications and services require two-factor authentication (2FA) to login, adding more friction to the user's flow. Lastly, sign-in methods have proliferated, making it difficult for users to remember how they signed in. This proliferation has also added complexity for developers, who now need to support multiple integrations and APIs.
Credential Manager brings support for passkeys, a new passwordless authentication mechanism, together with traditional sign-in methods, such as passwords and federated sign-in, into a single interface for the user and a unified API for developers.
With Credential Manager, users will benefit from seeing all their credentials in one place; passkeys, passwords and federated credentials (such as Sign in with Google), without needing to tap three different places. This reduces user confusion and simplifies choices when logging in.
Credential Manager also makes the login experience simpler by deduping across sign-in methods for the same account and surfacing only the safest and simplest authentication method, further reducing the number of choices users need to make. So, if a user has a password and a passkey for a single account, they won’t need to decide between them when signing in; rather, the system will propose using the passkey - the safest and simplest option. That way, users can focus on choosing the right account instead of the underlying technology.
For developers, Credential Manager supports multiple sign-in mechanisms within a single API. It provides support for passkeys on Android apps, enabling the transition to a passwordless future. And at the same time, it also supports passwords and federated sign in like Sign in With Google, simplifying integration requirements and ongoing maintenance.
Kayak has already integrated with Credential Manager, providing users with the advantages of passkeys and simpler authentication flows.
"Passkeys make creating an account lightning fast by removing the need for password creation or navigating to a separate app to get a link or code. As a bonus, implementing the new Credential Manager library also reduced technical debt in our code base by putting passkeys, passwords and Google sign-in all into one new modern UI. Indeed, users are able to sign up to Kayak with passkeys twice as fast as with an email link, which also improves the sign-in completion rate."– Matthias Keller, Chief Scientist and SVP, Technology at Kayak
Something similar is observed on Shopify.
“Passkeys work across browsers and our mobile app, so it was a no-brainer decision for our team to implement, and the resulting one-tap user experience has been truly magical. Buyers who are using passkeys to log in to Shop are doing so 14% faster than those who are using other login methods (such as email or SMS verification)”– Mathieu Perreault, Director of Engineering at Shopify
Credential Manager on Android 14 and higher supports multiple password managers at the same time, enabling users to choose the provider of their choice to store, sync and manage their credentials. We are excited to be working with several leading providers like Dashlane on their integration with Credential Manager.
“Adopting passkeys was a no-brainer for us. It simplifies sign-ins, replaces the guesswork of traditional authentication methods with a reliable standard, and helps our users ditch the downsides of passwords. Simply put, it’s a big win for both us and our users. Dashlane is ready to serve passkeys on Android 14!”– Rew Islam, Director of Product Engineering and Innovation at Dashlane
To start using Credential Manager, you can refer to our integration guide. We have also published a new guide for designing user experiences for passkeys on Android.
We'd love to hear your input during this beta release, so please let us know about your experience integrating with Credential Manager, using passkeys, or any other feedback you might have: