Google is teaming up with password manager Dashlane to make it easier for users to handle the burden of remembering passwords.
The project, which is currently targeted only toward Android users, should help users log in to apps safely and quickly, by storing passwords in a highly secure medium. The name of the initiative is pretty self-explicit: it is dubbed Open YOLO, as in "you only log in once." Also, it is supposed to attract know-how and expertise from a wide array of password managers.
These types of software are a great way to help users who always forget their passwords. However, top names in the field, such as Dashlane, LastPass, 1Password and Roboform provide more or less the same service.
It is normal for the average user to question which one is the best choice. Some may prefer one password manager, while others may be more inclined toward a different one.
Here is where Open YOLO shines, as the project aims to deliver a single, seamless login process, which integrates whichever password manager users make use of.
Keep in mind that the project has a high chance of tapping into the potential of Smart Lock, which Google already uses. Smart Lock entered the stage in 2015, when it started to help users log in Android apps and apply their credentials to log into Chrome's websites.
At the moment, Open YOLO works in open API form, which ensures that app developers can include any password managers in it. Developers from various password managers are encouraged to chip in with their proprietary technology and expertise so that the API gets to its best form. The good news is that top password managers are either already involved in the project or are showing a strong interest in it.
The idea behind the project is to have password managers that are increasingly proactive and transparent. The team behind Open YOLO aims to have the project in stable form so that security can be made simple and accessible "for every user," regardless of device.
Insiders familiar with the matter estimate that Google will approve the API by September.
Open YOLO still toils on creating a login process for Android apps, but the team's ambitions are far greater.
"We see this open API [...] becoming universally implemented by apps and password managers across every platform and operating system," Dashlane says in a blog post.
Dashlane goes on to say that it's looking forward to a future when the collaborative project will enhance the safety of all users, on all ecosystems.
