Google's password-killing project is coming later this year
Android users may soon be able to abandon some of their passwords for good.
Google plans to start testing the first version of its password-killing Project Abacus with banking apps next month and will make the tools available to every Android developer by the end of the year, the company said.
First previewed during last year's I/O developer conference, Project Abacus is Google's Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) group's ambitious plan to eliminate passwords. Rather than using passwords to confirm your identity, Abacus uses sensor data from your phone to verify your identity.
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"We have a phone and these phones have all these sensors in them, why couldn’t it just know who I was so I don’t need a password, I should just be able to work," ATAP head Dan Kaufman said during a session at I/O Friday.
To help achieve that goal, Google is working on a new developer API called the Trust API, which will allows app makers to tap into this data -- including things like your location and facial recognition -- in order to verify your identity. "What we’re going to be able to do with this is get rid of the awkwardness of second factor authentication,” Kaufman said.
Google plans to begin testing the API with "several large financial institutions" beginning in June and -- provided the tests go well -- will make the API widely available to Android developers by the end of the year.
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Topics Android Cybersecurity Google
Karissa was Mashable's Senior Tech Reporter, and is based in San Francisco. She covers social media platforms, Silicon Valley, and the many ways technology is changing our lives. Her work has also appeared in Wired, Macworld, Popular Mechanics, and The Wirecutter. In her free time, she enjoys snowboarding and watching too many cat videos on Instagram. Follow her on Twitter @karissabe.
