The number of passwords one must remember is getting huge with every passing day on the internet; and the ones that are rarely used, are usually forgotten.
Authentication is a serious business, for the company AND their users. At the same time it should be secure, simple and quick! Having said that, passwords (or OTPs for that matter), are neither of these three. They are hard to remember and easy to crack. A pain to type on tiny screen and a nightmare for forgetful people (like me).
Why opt for password-less?
1. Faster to deploy
Fewer features to build and maintain for the development team. Already the “dev guys” are bombarded with heaps of new features in the pipeline, they could happily be spared of this.
2. Better user experience for audience
Passwords are definitely not THE biggest friction point of the users on an app/website, but when they forget passwords, it is a big, really big “OH GOD :O” moment for them.
A study shows that, 59% of the people, reuse their passwords everywhere because it’s so hard to remember them. You and I both can relate. Isn’t it? It is definitely not secure. Going password-less saves the user of this “not-so-secure” way of browsing and using the internet.
Also, it reduces a step in the process to get what the user wants on the app/website. It reduces typing on the tiny input field as well.
3. Better security
12345, password, myname, myname123, 0000….. It does come to an end! Even worse, use a single password every where and it gets hacked! It’s so difficult to invent new ones OR safeguard single passwords. Password-less previewing and login is perhaps the best secure way!
Also, the other side of the story- Company has to safeguard passwords in the database. With password-less authentication, there are absolutely no passwords to store and protect, thus less chances of damaging the database.
4. Less support required
Less support is required for helping people with password problems. Sometimes, forget password is also not enough to fix password issues, in such cases, human intervention is a must. Going password less ensures this intervention to come down.
Going password-less.
Medium logins it’s users without a password, Slack does it for their iOS app, iPhone does it to get users to use the phone. All in different domains, but all tried to reduce the efforts and complexities involved in incorporating password and username fields.
So does CanvasFlip! Users, teammates and clients can preview the prototype shared, without going through the cumbersome password authentication process.
That’s right!
When you have created the innovative and creative prototype for your company, we make sure that the app/website remains a pleasant surprise for the world when released - It is that secure even without adding a password!
When you are share the prototype with your friends, clients, real users and teammates on CanvasFlip, we generate an unique link for each user.
Traditionally, an universal URL/link is generated that is sent to all users. To add the layer of security, a password is mentioned in the mail. This password assures that the prototype can only be accessed by the authorized person.
In addition to the problems discussed above (with passwords in action), there was another issue we came across. Users usually tend to skip written material and the focus goes directly onto the CTA that says - “Review the prototype”. This leads to a panic situation for the user when the username and password fields pop up.
So now - Users can easily preview the prototype just with a single click. It’s completely secured and avoids any complexities while trying to experience the prototype.
Queries when password-less previewing went live
1.What if someone gains access to my email address?
If someone has access to your email, they will not have access to your CanvasFlip account. But, they will definitely be able to preview your prototype from link shared on the email.
But, even if CanvasFlip required passwords, we’d need a forgot password system, and they could use that to gain access to previewing prototypes by sending a password reset to your email address.
2. What do I have to do, to preview prototypes without passwords?
Just like old times, you will get an email with a link attached in it. All you have to do is click on that link. Yes, that’s it.
3. What if I don’t receive an email?
Check your spam/ promotion/ updates folder. If it’s not there, and you still haven’t received it after a few minutes, make sure the person sending the prototype has entered your email address correctly. The email will be sent from [email protected] with the subject - “XYZ has sent you an app prototype to review - ‘app_name’ “.
4. Have more questions?
Feel free to reach out to me at monika[at]canvasflip.com and I’ll do my best to answer them.