Getting into your car and starting it without having to dig for keys adds convenience, but will likely pay big dividends when the zombie apocalypse hits. Saving a few seconds now isn’t exactly life or death, but saving a few seconds then may well be.
Frankly, we’d rather have that same kind of keyless convenience when we sit down at the computer. Trying to remember or look up passwords for all the sites we use gets tiresome, and wastes time otherwise spent productively (like searching the web for cool car videos).
Ford, it seems, has a better idea. As Fast Company (via Gizmodo) tells us, Ford has created an app called Ford Keyfree Login that securely stores passwords on your smartphone, then sends them via Bluetooth to your Mac desktop or laptop.
Open Facebook, for example, and you’re already logged in. Once you’re out of NFC range, you’re automatically logged out, so there’s no chance of inadvertently staying logged in and giving someone else access to your account.
Are there downsides to the Ford Keyfree Login app? Sure, including the fact that it’s currently limited to distribution in France, or that the current version only seems to remember passwords for Facebook, Twitter and Google.
We’ll assume that the security issue is covered, since the linked devices need to be paired before they communicate. Still, we’d be curious to know what the NFC range is, just because we’re the paranoid type.
If you live in the United States and salivate at the thought of a password-managed life, fear not: Ford says that the Keyfree Login app will be here soon.