Marco Arment

And we will get to import export in a second, which was which I mentioned as sort of a thing that had not yet been solved. But just to make it clear, most of the platforms, including Apple's that deal with passkeys at all, have some form of end to end encrypted cloud sync. So it's not like the passkey only exists temporarily. on your phone or only exists on your Mac or whatever.

And we will get to import export in a second, which was which I mentioned as sort of a thing that had not yet been solved. But just to make it clear, most of the platforms, including Apple's that deal with passkeys at all, have some form of end to end encrypted cloud sync. So it's not like the passkey only exists temporarily. on your phone or only exists on your Mac or whatever.

It's integrated into iCloud Keychain. Once you get a passkey, if you have iCloud Keychain enabled, it's everywhere on all your Apple stuff. So if you create a passkey and then drop your phone on the ocean a day later, you did not lose your ability to log into your stuff. That thing is synced through iCloud Keychain. It's available as long as you still have access to your Apple ID.

It's integrated into iCloud Keychain. Once you get a passkey, if you have iCloud Keychain enabled, it's everywhere on all your Apple stuff. So if you create a passkey and then drop your phone on the ocean a day later, you did not lose your ability to log into your stuff. That thing is synced through iCloud Keychain. It's available as long as you still have access to your Apple ID.

That's been there from day one. Cross-platform sharing, like, hey, but what if I'm... That's fine if you have Apple devices, but what if I have a Windows PC? What if I have an Android phone? How does that work? That is a little bit more difficult, although Apple does have iCloud keychain sharing thing and browser extensions for Windows.

That's been there from day one. Cross-platform sharing, like, hey, but what if I'm... That's fine if you have Apple devices, but what if I have a Windows PC? What if I have an Android phone? How does that work? That is a little bit more difficult, although Apple does have iCloud keychain sharing thing and browser extensions for Windows.

But, like, it's not a great cross-platform solution, depending on what your platform is. If you're using Linux, I don't think Apple has any great integration there. I think there's some way to get that. They're not like passwords where you can just copy and paste them from one place to the other, so there needs to be some kind of integration.

But, like, it's not a great cross-platform solution, depending on what your platform is. If you're using Linux, I don't think Apple has any great integration there. I think there's some way to get that. They're not like passwords where you can just copy and paste them from one place to the other, so there needs to be some kind of integration.

Which leads us to, and I mentioned import-export, what if you don't want to use iCloud Keychain because it's so Apple-centric or Apple-slash-Windows-centric? You wonder if you want something that's, you know, you want to use a different system to deal with your passkeys. And I said that it's not like 1Password or whatever, you can just export a CSV or something.

Which leads us to, and I mentioned import-export, what if you don't want to use iCloud Keychain because it's so Apple-centric or Apple-slash-Windows-centric? You wonder if you want something that's, you know, you want to use a different system to deal with your passkeys. And I said that it's not like 1Password or whatever, you can just export a CSV or something.

That's because that just puts all your passwords in plain text. They wanted to come up with something that's more secure. And lo and behold, the Fido Alliance, which is the group that is responsible for passkeys that all the big companies are members of, including Apple, recently announced a new specification for doing import-export in a secure way.

That's because that just puts all your passwords in plain text. They wanted to come up with something that's more secure. And lo and behold, the Fido Alliance, which is the group that is responsible for passkeys that all the big companies are members of, including Apple, recently announced a new specification for doing import-export in a secure way.

We'll put a link in the show notes in the 9to5Mac story about it. Reading from that article, it says... The new specification aims to promote user choice by offering a way to import and export passkeys.

We'll put a link in the show notes in the 9to5Mac story about it. Reading from that article, it says... The new specification aims to promote user choice by offering a way to import and export passkeys.

The draft of the new specification establishes the Credential Exchange Protocol, or CXP, and Credential Exchange Format, or CXF format, for transferring not only passkeys but other types of credentials as well. The new formats are encrypted, which ensures that credentials remain secure during the process.

The draft of the new specification establishes the Credential Exchange Protocol, or CXP, and Credential Exchange Format, or CXF format, for transferring not only passkeys but other types of credentials as well. The new formats are encrypted, which ensures that credentials remain secure during the process.

1Password, which worked with the FIDO Alliance on the new specification, has already committed to supporting the new passkey import and export formats as soon as they become available. Other companies such as Dashlane, Bitwarden, NordPass, and Google also worked on the draft of the new specification.

1Password, which worked with the FIDO Alliance on the new specification, has already committed to supporting the new passkey import and export formats as soon as they become available. Other companies such as Dashlane, Bitwarden, NordPass, and Google also worked on the draft of the new specification.

Although nothing has been said about Apple, the company is also part of the Fido Alliance and was one of the first to introduce Passkeys in 2022 with iOS 16. When it comes to the Apple ecosystem, Passkeys are synchronized with their Apple devices via iCloud.

Although nothing has been said about Apple, the company is also part of the Fido Alliance and was one of the first to introduce Passkeys in 2022 with iOS 16. When it comes to the Apple ecosystem, Passkeys are synchronized with their Apple devices via iCloud.