Starting at $30, Google's Titan Security Key is designed to keep bad actors from taking over your online accounts. With both USB-C and NFC, you can be confident that the hardware security key will work with just about all the devices you already own. We wish it had an easy way to manage passkeys, and it lacks some features found in similar products, but it's backed by an industry giant, making it an obvious choice for newcomers to multi-factor authentication (MFA). If you want to spend a little less for a very polished product, we recommend the $29 Yubico Security Key C NFC. It's affordable and easy to use, making it our Editors' Choice winner.
How Much Does Google Titan Security Key Cost?
Google sells the USB-A/NFC key for $30 and the USB-C/NFC key (which is what we're reviewing here) for $35. The aforementioned Editors' Choice winner, Yubico Security Key C, is $29.
Titan Security Key Features
The Google Titan Security Key uses FIDO2 credentialing and cryptography, so you can store passkeys on the device and log into many sites around the web. Google gives you a lot of passkey storage, up to 250 resident passkeys—much more than the 100 passkeys allowed by Yubico's Security Key C. The Titan Security Key doesn't have a built-in way to browse all those passkeys or remove them from the device, which isn't a big deal because you get so much storage for them. That said, Yubico has companion apps that let you see what passkeys and other tokens are on the security key.
The USB-C Titan Security Key lacks some of the advanced capabilities found in the more expensive Yubikey 5C NFC, a professional-level security device. This $55 key supports the latest authentication standards, doubles as a smart card, and can be configured to spit out static passwords. It also supports the proprietary Yubico OTP system and works with OpenPGP. When paired with the Yubico Authenticator app, it can generate time-limited one-time-use passcodes (OATH-TOTP). These aspects make it a great key for security professionals or people in business settings, but it's beyond the needs of the first-time users Google is clearly targeting with its Titan Security Keys.
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Why Do I Need A Security Key?
Google doesn't offer much in the way of documentation about the Titan Security Key and where you can use it around the web. Other companies explain how their security keys fit into your cybersecurity toolkit, like Yubico's posts about open authentication standards supported by its products, or the list of services accepting hardware security keys sponsored by Nitrokey (and linked to by Google).
Hands On With the Titan Security Key
The USB-C Titan Security Key is lozenge-shaped and made of white polycarbonate with silver accents. It's not as diminutive as the latest Yubico keys, but it's still small enough to hang on a keychain, and it feels rock-solid. If you're looking for a device with a super small form-factor, check out the $69 Kensington VeriMark Guard.
The device has no moving parts or batteries and doesn't require a network connection. At one end is a standard USB-C connector, and at the other is a zinc alloy-reinforced hole where you can thread a key ring. Just above the connector is a small LED that flashes when connected to a device, and above that is a silver, touch-sensitive circle. Though the Titan Security Key does not read fingerprints, you still must tap the silver button while logging into sites. This is standard for all hardware MFA keys.
To start using the Titan Security Key, simply navigate to a site that supports hardware keys, find the settings to add a key to your account, and follow the directions the site provides. When you use the key for the first time on a Windows machine, you will be asked to create a PIN. If you ever forget the PIN, navigate to Settings > Accounts > Sign-In Options > Security Key. If you want to erase the device and start over, you can do so from this section. After creating a PIN, enrolling the Titan Security Key with our test Google account was easy, and we were able to login to Gmail on desktop and mobile without entering a password.
NFC lets you use the key wirelessly with supported devices. We used a Samsung Galaxy A71 to test this functionality. We logged out of the Google account used for testing and then placed the key against the back side of the Android. We immediately logged into the Google account without on-screen popups or key tapping.
Past versions of the Google Titan Security Key struggled to work with a Microsoft account. This time, we didn't have any trouble creating a passkey for our test account, storing it on the device, and logging back in using the passkey.
Verdict: The Titan Security Key Is a Good Start
The Titan Security Key is well-made, and its NFC and USB-C support means that it will work with most devices you already have. It lacks the advanced authentication features of high-end YubiKeys, but could be a fine starting point for the average user. That said, the Yubico Security Key C NFC gives you the same security for less money, making it our Editors' Choice winner and the option we recommend to newbies.
Max Eddy contributed to this review.
With NFC and options for USB-A and USB-C, the Titan Security Key from Google works with nearly every device, but offers little beyond authentication.
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