In the last two years, consumers and businesses alike have enhanced their digital presence in response to the rapid shift to online. Many users manage multiple accounts on their mobiles and desktops across e-commerce, entertainment, banking, and work profiles. These numerous accounts mean that users must set and keep track of multiple passwords. In fact, according to a survey, digital users managed an average of 100 passwords each in 2020. That’s up 25 percent from the 70-80 passwords they kept track of a year earlier.
Passwords have enjoyed wide adoption across businesses and consumers owing to their simplicity and seeming infallibility. However, the use of passwords as an authentication method is expected to decline. According to a recent survey, 91 percent of IT practitioners agree that the traditional password will not exist in a decade.
In addition to the inconvenience of managing multiple passwords, as an authentication method, passwords are not as secure as other sign-in methods. The traditional password is a 60-year-old innovation designed for an analog world, easily forgotten or lost, very easily stolen and compromised. In an age where breaches and cyberattacks are rampant, businesses are looking to deliver passwordless log-in experiences to preserve their consumer’s digital identities.
User experience is a priority
The passwordless log-in experience has had a slower adoption rate than anticipated due to the ubiquity of passwords. However, in 2022 we can expect the desire for a common user experience across mobile and desktop to be the factor that catalyses passwordless adoption.
In addition to the security benefits, implementing a unified user experience will drive the acceptance of password-less log-in methods for consumers and technology organisations. Methods of authenticity presented on mobile, and desktop will become more aligned and similar in their offering across different channels.
The age of biometrics: Robust and failsafe authentication
Industry experts believe that the extinction of traditional log-in methods such as passwords will give way to the age of biometrics.
We can expect to see two different adoption models – the widespread use of native biometrics on both mobile and desktop browsing and passive mechanics such as behavioral biometrics. Behavioral biometrics (provides privacy-preserving, frictionless, accessible, and inclusive methods to authenticate users in robust and failsafe ways.
By measuring and analysing human gestures or physical identifiers and leveraging them to recognise or verify a user’s identity, behavioral biometrics enable businesses to prove users are who they say they are. The way a person holds, swipes, or types on their device can be as unique as their fingerprint or retina, if not more, making it nearly impossible for cybercriminals to replicate.
The customer will also log in across mobile and desktop using a single username. In the background, organisations can see how users behave on different devices at different times of the day. They can then use this information to build a better picture of consumer behavioral biometrics, making their online experience more secure.
PWAs will become more prominent
As the need for unified log-in methods rises, we will also see the continued adoption of progressive web application usage (PWAs) on a larger scale, which can be installed via the browser. These will have the look and feel of a native app but with a lot more benefits.
For example, they are lightweight, small in size, users don’t have to go to the app store to download them, and PWAs work offline. The singular concept of a PWA across mobile and desktop browsing environments will eradicate the need to download native mobile apps and manage multiple passwords.
Overall, passwords are a ubiquitous log-in method, and users still largely depend on them to secure their accounts. However, just as the adoption of digital platforms and technologies rises, our authentication methods also need to evolve. Bad actors are constantly reinventing their tactics to exploit the everyday consumer’s digital identity. Thus, firms are re-thinking how they authenticate their consumers to provide secure and seamless digital experiences. Over time, unified log-in experiences will become more prominent, catalysing the extinction of traditional log-in methods such as passwords.
Stuart Dobbie is the vice president of global innovation at Callsign
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