Passkeys are finally mature enough that you can sign in to most major services with your face, fingerprint, or device PIN instead of juggling dozens of passwords. The real payoff comes when those passkeys follow you from Android to iPhone, from a work PC to a MacBook, so Chrome just offers to log you in wherever you are. I am going to walk through how to wire that up using Google’s ecosystem so your passkeys stay in sync across phones, laptops, and desktops.
Why passkeys matter and how Chrome handles them
At a basic level, a passkey is a secure alternative to a password that ties your login to a device and a local unlock method, such as Face ID, Touch ID, or a screen lock. Instead of typing a secret string into a web form, you approve a sign in on your phone or computer, which keeps the private key on your hardware and only shares a cryptographic proof with the site. Google’s own documentation explains that passkeys improve the security of your online accounts by replacing passwords with phishing resistant credentials that are stored in a manager rather than in your memory, and that is the model Chrome leans on across platforms.
In Google’s world, those credentials live in Google Password Manager and sync through your Google Account, so Chrome can offer the same passkeys on any device where you are signed in. On iPhone and iPad, the company spells out that passkeys saved with Google Password Manager can be used across devices when you are logged in with the same Google Account, and that is the same principle that applies on Android, Windows, and macOS once Chrome sync is enabled. The result is that Chrome becomes the front door to your passkeys, while the underlying sync is handled by your Google Account in the background.
How Google Password Manager syncs passkeys behind the scenes
To make passkeys portable, Google relies on the same cloud infrastructure that already syncs your bookmarks and saved passwords, but with extra protections around the cryptographic keys. The company’s technical guidance notes that passkeys are managed by password managers and synchronized across devices, which in this case means Google Password Manager is responsible for storing and moving those keys between your phone and your computers. That is why the first practical step is always to make sure you are signed in to Chrome with the Google Account you actually want to use everywhere.
On Android, Google Password Manager is built into the operating system and Chrome, and it can sync passkeys to other devices that support the same standard. The official Android and Chrome documentation explains that you can use Chrome on your phone to save passkeys in Google Password Manager once you are signed in to your Google Account, and those credentials then become available on other devices that share that account. When you later sit down at a Windows PC or a Mac and open Chrome, the browser pulls in the same passkeys so you can approve sign ins there too, without exporting or importing anything manually.
Setting up passkey sync on Android phones and tablets
On Android, the foundation is making sure Google Password Manager is active and set as the default autofill service so Chrome can see and use your passkeys. I start by opening the system settings on an Android phone, searching for the entry that controls passwords and passkeys, and then reviewing the options for Google Password Manager to confirm that it is turned on for the account I care about. A detailed walkthrough of this process explains that you should select the option in Settings for passwords and passkeys, then choose Google as the provider so that the same manager handles both traditional passwords and newer passkeys across the system.
Once Google Password Manager is in place, the next step is to make sure passkeys are actually syncing and being created when you sign up or sign in to sites that support them. Guidance aimed at Android users notes that you can use Chrome on your mobile device to save passkeys in Google Password Manager after you sign in to your Google Account, and that the browser will prompt you to create a passkey when a site offers that option. When you accept, the passkey is stored in your account, not just on that one phone, which is what allows it to show up later on your laptop or another Android device without any extra setup.
Turning Chrome into your passkey hub on Windows and Mac
On desktop systems, Chrome is the glue that connects your local machine to the passkeys stored in your Google Account, whether you are on Windows or macOS. I begin by signing in to Chrome with the same Google Account that I configured on my phone, then I open the browser menu and head into the settings panel that controls passwords and autofill. A practical guide to Google Password Manager spells out that you should open Chrome settings, go to Password and Autofill, then choose Google Password Manager and sign in with your Google account so the browser can pull in your existing credentials and keep them updated.
Once that is done, Chrome on your PC or Mac can use passkeys that were originally created on your Android phone, and in many cases it can also create new ones directly on the desktop. Technical documentation on supported environments explains that the user can choose to sign in using a passkey stored on another device, for example when a passkey is stored on an iPhone or Android phone and you are logging in from a laptop, and that Chrome on Windows 10 or higher and macOS 10.15 or higher supports passkeys. In practice, that means you might see a QR code on your PC that lets you approve the login from your phone, or you might simply use Windows Hello or Touch ID on a Mac if you have set those up as local authenticators.
Bridging Android and iPhone with Google Password Manager on iOS
The missing piece for a long time was iOS, because Apple Keychain and Google Password Manager lived in separate silos, but that gap has narrowed now that Google’s manager can act as an autofill provider on iPhone and iPad. To make that work, I go into the iOS Settings app, tap General, then Autofill, and switch the password manager to Google so that Chrome and other apps can pull from the same pool of credentials. One detailed walkthrough of this process notes that the first step to using GPM on iOS is to enable it in the iOS settings menu under Settings, General, Autofill, which prevents you from having to copy and paste passwords or passkeys from one app to another.
Once Google Password Manager is active on iOS, Chrome can both save and use passkeys tied to your Google Account, just as it does on Android. Google’s own help pages explain that you can save and use passkeys with Google Password Manager on iPhone and iPad by signing in to your Google Account on each device, and that those passkeys will be available wherever you use that account. The same documentation also emphasizes that passkeys saved with Google Password Manager can be used across devices when you are signed in with the same Google Account, which is what finally lets an Android phone and an iPhone share the same passkey based logins through Chrome.
Using passkeys in Chrome on iPhone and iPad day to day
Once the plumbing is in place, using passkeys in Chrome on iOS feels a lot like using saved passwords, except you are approving logins with Face ID or a device passcode instead of typing. On an iPhone or iPad, I open Chrome, tap the menu button, and choose the Password Manager entry to review which credentials are available and whether a given site has a passkey or just a traditional password. Apple focused documentation for Chrome notes that you can use saved passwords in Chrome in the site’s app by opening Chrome, tapping More, then Password Manager, which is the same place where passkeys appear once they have been created.
When you visit a site that supports passkeys, Chrome on iOS will offer to create or use one, and the experience is tied directly into the Google Account you are using. Google’s help material for iPhone and iPad explains that you can understand passkeys as secure alternatives to passwords that are stored in Google Password Manager and used across devices when you are signed in with the same Google Account, and that Chrome will surface them automatically when you return to a site. In practice, that means you might register a passkey for a banking app on your iPhone, then later sign in from Chrome on a Windows laptop using the same Google Account without ever seeing or typing a password.
Creating and managing passkeys for your Google Account
Beyond third party sites, your Google Account itself can use passkeys, which then become a master key for everything tied to that identity, including Gmail, YouTube, and Google Drive. I usually start by visiting the dedicated passkey management page in a desktop browser, where you can add a new passkey for your phone, your laptop, or a hardware security key. One detailed guide explains that to use a passkey with your Google account you go to a short URL, log in, and follow the prompts to create a passkey, after which you can use that passkey on to log in instead of a password whenever Google prompts you.
Once you have created passkeys for your Google Account on multiple devices, Google Password Manager becomes the central place to see and revoke them if a device is lost or replaced. The broader technical overview of supported environments notes in its page summary that passkeys are managed by password managers and synchronized across devices, and that Google Password Manager stores them for accounts that use it. That means if you retire an old Android phone or sell a MacBook, you can remove its passkey from your account so that only your current hardware can approve new sign ins, while Chrome on your remaining devices continues to sync the rest.
How Android and PC devices share passkeys in practice
The most visible benefit of all this work is when you sit down at a Windows PC, open Chrome, and watch it offer to sign you in with a passkey that actually lives on your Android phone. Google has built a bridge that lets passkeys saved on your Android phone sync to PCs so that Chrome on the desktop can rely on your phone as an authenticator or, in some cases, store a synced copy of the passkey itself. A detailed report on this feature notes that Google can now sync passkeys across Android phone and PC devices, and that this capability sits alongside other efforts in areas like AI, satellites, cybersecurity, PCs, and tech policy, which shows how central passkeys have become to Google’s security strategy.
Under the hood, Windows relies on its own credential system, but Chrome and Google Password Manager provide a consistent layer on top so you do not have to think about which platform is doing what. A technical Q&A aimed at Windows users explains that you are absolutely right about how Android handles passkeys, typically storing them in Google Password Manager and syncing them through your Google Account, while Windows uses its own mechanisms for storing passkeys securely. By leaning on Chrome and Google Password Manager on both sides, you get a unified experience where your Android phone and your PC share the same passkey based logins without you having to manage separate sets of credentials.
Fine tuning Chrome’s password and passkey settings
Once passkeys are syncing, it is worth spending a few minutes in Chrome’s settings to make sure the browser behaves the way you expect on every device. On desktop, I open Chrome, click the menu button, and head into the section labeled Password and Autofill, then into Google Password Manager, where I can choose settings that control whether Chrome offers to save passwords, automatically signs me in, and uses passkeys when available. A comprehensive guide to Google Password Manager walks through this flow and notes that you should open Chrome, go to Password and Autofill, then Google Password Manager, and choose Settings after you sign in with your Google account so that the same preferences apply wherever you use Chrome.
On Android and iOS, similar toggles exist inside the browser and the system settings, and it is worth confirming that Chrome is allowed to act as a password and passkey provider. A step by step tutorial on syncing passkeys across Android, iPhone, Mac, and PC points out that after you set Google as the autofill option on your phone, you should also make sure Chrome itself is configured to use Google Password Manager for passwords and passkeys. The same guide explains that you can then create a passkey on one device and see it appear on another, and that you can always return to the passwords and passkeys section in settings if you need to adjust how aggressively Chrome prompts you to save or use these credentials.
What to expect when you sign in with passkeys across devices
Once everything is configured, the actual sign in flow with passkeys looks slightly different depending on which device you are using, but the core idea is the same. On a site that supports passkeys, Chrome will offer to use a stored passkey or create a new one, and if the passkey lives on another device you might see a QR code or a prompt to use your phone. A technical overview of passkey support on Android and Chrome notes that the user can choose to sign in using a passkey stored on another device, for example when a passkey is stored on an iPhone or Android phone and you are logging in from a laptop, and that Chrome on Android 9 or higher supports passkeys for this kind of cross device flow.
In day to day use, that means you might register a passkey for a service like PayPal or eBay on your Android phone, then later sign in from Chrome on a MacBook or a Windows desktop without ever typing your password again. A hands on walkthrough of syncing passkeys in Chrome across Android, iPhone, Mac, and PC describes how you can review and set up Google Password Manager on Android, then turn on the switch for Chrome on your other devices so that the same passkeys are available everywhere. Once that is done, Chrome becomes the consistent front end for your passkeys, whether you are unlocking them with Face ID on an iPhone, a fingerprint sensor on a Pixel, or a PIN on a Windows laptop.
Learning the ecosystem and avoiding common pitfalls
The biggest mental shift with passkeys is understanding that they are tied to both your devices and your account, so losing access to either can cause friction if you are not prepared. Google’s own help pages for iPhone and iPad emphasize that you should save and use passkeys with Google Password Manager by signing in to your Google Account on each device, and that those passkeys are only available when you are logged in with that same account. That means if you switch to a new primary Google Account or sign out of Chrome on a device, your passkeys will appear to vanish until you sign back in with the account that actually holds them.
It is also worth remembering that Chrome is not the only way to sync passwords and passkeys, and that mixing managers can create confusion if you are not deliberate. A video tutorial on setting up Chrome to sync passwords on any device points out that it is common to have a Windows computer and an iPhone or a Chromebook and an iPad, and that Chrome can work with all of them as long as you are signed in with the same account. If you instead split your credentials between Google Password Manager, Apple’s iCloud Keychain, and a third party app, you may find that some devices offer passkeys while others only know about passwords, which is why I prefer to pick one primary manager and let Chrome be the consistent interface across Android, iPhone, Mac, and PC.
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