Passwords are easy to forget, easy to reuse, and easy for scammers to steal through fake login pages. Passkeys fix that problem at the root: instead of typing a secret that can be copied, you sign in the same way you unlock your phone, with your fingerprint, face scan, or device PIN. Google made passkeys available for Google Accounts, and October is the perfect time to set one up — it is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and Google itself highlighted passkeys in a guide published on October 8, 2026. This guide shows you how to create a Google passkey in a few minutes, test it, and avoid the most common problems.
What you need before you start
You do not need to buy anything, and you do not need to delete your password. Google says adding a passkey does not change or remove your existing authentication or recovery options, so your password and recovery methods stay in place as a backup.
- A phone or computer you personally own. Google warns you should only create passkeys on devices you personally own and use, never on a shared or public device.
- A screen lock turned on — a fingerprint, face scan, or PIN. Without a screen lock, you cannot use a passkey on that device.
- A supported device and browser. Google lists computers running at least Windows 10, macOS Ventura, or ChromeOS 109, and phones running Android 9 or iOS 16 or later. Supported browsers include Chrome 109 or later, Safari 16 or later, Edge 109 or later, and Firefox 122 or later.
- An up-to-date operating system and browser, and, on iPhone, iPad, or Mac, iCloud Keychain turned on. If you want to use a phone passkey to sign in on a computer, turn on Bluetooth as well.
- Your current Google sign-in details, in case Google asks you to sign in or verify your identity first.
Step-by-step: create your Google passkey
- On your own phone or computer, go to g.co/passkeys. This is Google's official passkey page. You can also go to myaccount.google.com/signinoptions/passkeys, which is the same sign-in options page in your Google Account settings.
- Sign in to the Google Account you want to protect, if prompted, and verify your identity if Google asks. If you are signed in to more than one account, make sure you are working on the right one.
- Tap or click Create a passkey, then follow the on-screen instructions from your device. Your phone or computer — not Google — will ask you to confirm with your fingerprint, face scan, or screen-lock PIN.
- Confirm the prompt. Your biometric data stays on your device and is never shared with Google, according to Google. Once you confirm, the passkey is created for that device.
- Repeat the process on a second device you own, if you want one. Google notes that after your first passkey, your next sign-in on another supported device may prompt you to create a passkey for that device too. Having a passkey on more than one personal device makes recovery much easier if one device is lost.
Test your new sign-in
Do not wait until you actually need it to find out whether it works. Sign out, then go to the Google sign-in page and enter your username. If a passkey is offered, tap it and confirm with your fingerprint, face scan, or PIN. To sign in on a computer with your phone's passkey, enter your username on the computer, choose Try another way and then Use your passkey, scan the QR code shown on the computer with your phone, tap Use passkey to sign in on your phone, and verify with your fingerprint, face unlock, or PIN.
Tips and common problems
- Your passkey may not work immediately. Google says you may need to wait up to 7 days before a newly created passkey is available at sign-in. If you already have a trusted passkey or physical security key, Google may be able to speed that up. Keep your password and recovery options until the passkey is working reliably.
- Do not create a passkey on a shared device. Anyone who can unlock that device could then access your Google Account, even after you sign out. If you did this by mistake, remove the passkey: go to your Google Account, tap Security & sign-in, under “How you sign in to Google” tap Passkeys and security keys, select the passkey, and tap Remove.
- Passkey not showing up? Check that screen lock is turned on, that your operating system and browser are up to date, and that “Skip password when possible” is turned on in your account security settings. You can also tap Try another way at sign-in to use your earlier sign-in choices instead.
- Prefer your password first? Creating a passkey opts you into a passkey-first experience, but you can still sign in with a password. In your Google Account, go to Security & sign-in and, under “How you sign in to Google,” turn off Skip password when possible. You will then be prompted for your password first.
- Lost your device? Sign in from another device you can access, remove the lost device's passkey using the steps above, and check your account's devices at google.com/devices.
The takeaway
Setting up a passkey takes only a few minutes, costs nothing, and removes the password from the exact moment attackers most often exploit — the login page. Start with your Google Account, because your email account can reset so many others, then add passkeys to your other important accounts over time. Do it on a device you own, keep a recovery option ready, and test the sign-in once. After that, signing in gets both simpler and harder for anyone else to fake.
Sources: Google Blog: How to set up a Google Account passkey; Google Account Help: Sign in with a passkey instead of a password.