Password Manager Dashlane wants to eliminate the master password

Password management service Dashlane announced plans to eliminate the master password; this password is used currently to unlock a user's vault at the service.

The company announced support for passkeys in its app for Android in February 2023 already, stating that Dashlane users could sign-in using passkeys and also manage passkeys of other services and sites using the password manager.

Passwordless is a relatively new trend, pushed by the FIDO Alliance and its members, which include Microsoft, Apple and Google among others. The system creates keys for individual services, apps and sites on the device and uses these for authentication. Users just have to enter their PIN or use other forms of authentication, such as biometric authentication, on the device to complete the process.

Common threats, such as phishing, brute forcing, or attempts to break into services to dump password information do not work anymore when passkeys are used.

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Allowing users to use a passwordless authentication system eliminates the need for users to remember a single secure password, which they use to unlock the password manager's vault.

Dashlane notes: "We are proud to announce our plan to release passwordless login for Dashlane later this year, which allows users to create new phishing-resistant, passwordless accounts that don’t suffer from the vulnerabilities of traditional passwords and multifactor authentication (MFA). Users will have the option to create an account without having to set up and remember a Master Password."

Dashlane customers may create an account without a master password on mobile devices going forward, according to the announcement. The device's PIN or biometric authentication is used to access the account's data. A recovery key may be used to regain access to the data, even if access to all devices set up for Dashlane use is lost.

Dashlane wants to extend the passwordless login option to existing customers in the future as well, allowing them to migrate from using a master password to the passwordless sign-in option.

The company has produced a video that demonstrates the functionality.

Dashlane is not the only service that prepares its service for a passwordless future. NordPass announced support for passkeys recently and Google announced this week that its customers may now switch to using passkeys as well.

Passwordless logins are an option in all of these cases. Users may set up their accounts to use passkeys, but they do not have to. Passwords won't go away any time soon, but their dominance will get smaller in the coming years.

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