Highlights:

  • The acquired platform Passwordless.dev helps developers enable users to sign into an application with biometric authentication methods and hardware security keys.
  • The platform is free until March 31, but some features will become available as part of paid plans post that.

Cybersecurity provider Bitwarden Inc. has announced a deal to acquire Passwordless.dev. The acquired startup helps other ventures to add passwordless login features to their application.

Bitwarden, based in Santa Barbara, California, provides one of the industry’s most popular password managers. The application has almost a million consumers across the world. The company also offers an enterprise version that includes additional features, such as a tool that ensures whether workers are using strong passwords to log in to the company’s systems.

The company passwordless.dev offers a programming framework with the same name. It enables software development teams to integrate passwordless login capabilities more effectively into apps. The developers can easily sign into an application with biometric authentication methods and hardware security keys.

About Passwordless.dev

Passwordless.dev is based on an open-source technology known as WebAuthn. The World Wide Web Consortium, an industry group that maintains numerous foundational internet technologies, released the technology in 2016. The technology is supported in all major browsers.

The deployment of WebAuthn can require weeks of work for the software teams. But, as per Passwordless.dev, its framework reduces the time needed to implement WebAuthn from weeks to just a few minutes. It also promises to ease several related tasks. Public-key cryptography is an encryption technique used by WebAuthn to process login requests. The framework of Passwordless.dev automatically manages encryption keys and simplifies complying with the European Union’s GDPR privacy regulations.

Bitwarden plans to offer the startup’s framework with its flagship password manager. There are no charges for the services till March 31, 2023, after which some features will become available as part of paid plans.

Experts’ Talk

Michael Crandell, CEO of Bitwarden, said, “Most companies want to invest in passwordless solutions such as Face ID, Touch ID, Windows Hello, and other web authentication forms to create better user experiences and stronger security. Passwordless.dev lets developers and companies accelerate passwordless innovation by simplifying development efforts into a single API.”

“Customers want Passwordless authentication solutions that are unique to their companies and end users, but building differentiated experiences is resource intensive,” said Passwordless.dev founder Anders Åberg. “Bitwarden and Passwordless.dev will make passwordless more accessible for everyone.”