Apple, Google and Microsoft want to eliminate passwords and replace them with a more secure method of accessing accounts or devices.
The three tech giants wanted to "collaborate across platforms" to achieve the "complete shift to a passwordless world," Microsoft Vice President Alex Simons said on Thursday.
The companies therefore want to rely on security standards that were developed by the Fido Alliance and the World Wide Web Consortium.
The Fido Alliance is an industry coalition that has been working on replacing passwords since 2013.
According to Fido President Sampath Srinivas, a product manager at Google, support for passwordless logins will be built into his company's Android and Chrome software over the next year.
Apple and Microsoft announced similar plans for their software.
Registration via smartphone
Cell phones will store a Fido credential, called a "passkey," when registering with a new service, which will be used to unlock online accounts, Srinivas explained in a blog post.
"When you log into a website or app on your phone, you just unlock your phone." And to log into a website on your computer, "you just need your phone nearby and you're just prompted to use it for access to unlock,” said Srinivas.
The Fido method is touted as more secure than what is known as two-factor authentication, which involves sending one-time passwords via SMS or email.
With the Fido standard, login is tied to previously registered devices.
If a user tries to log into a service, it sends a request to the device and the user has to confirm this using their preferred unlocking method such as fingerprint or PIN.
The device then only sends the confirmation; sensitive information such as a password or fingerprint does not leave the device.
Without this procedure, the handling of passwords can usually be improved: Here are five tips that bring a lot with little effort.