Image: © Elena Abrazhevich/Stock.adobe.com
Passkeys are growing in popularity. A FIDO Alliance survey found that they are now supported by 20pc of the world’s top 100 websites.
On World Password Day yesterday (2 May), Microsoft gave us a glimpse of a passwordless future by announcing support for passkeys across all Microsoft consumer accounts.
Passkeys are largely seen as easier and more secure alternatives to passwords because they rely on personal forms of identification such as fingerprints, face scans and device locks such as PINs. They form a stronger defence against phishing and other malicious activity compared to the more arbitrary passwords – which are also prone to being forgotten.
Now, the world’s largest company has introduced passkeys for accounts across Windows, Google and Apple platforms. This follows a trend across services that are increasingly taking to passkeys as sign-in methods instead of the traditional password.
“Passkeys are so much easier and more secure than passwords that we predict passkeys will replace passwords almost entirely (and we hope this happens soon),” the company wrote in an announcement.
“Your passkey gives you quick and easy access to the Microsoft services you use every day, and it will do a much better job than your password of protecting your account from malicious attacks.”
Microsoft said that users can create passkeys using this link, where they can choose between face, fingerprint, PIN or a security key to sign in.
Passkeys have been growing rapidly in popularity. In the UK, for instance, more than half the population has enabled passkeys on at least one of their accounts, according to a FIDO Alliance survey published this week. What’s more, around a fifth have passkeys activated on every account that allows them.
In separate research, the Alliance also found that passkeys are now supported by 20pc of the world’s top 100 websites and 12pc of the top 250.
“The early pace of passkey adoption is hugely encouraging, so much so that World Password Day may soon be in need of a rebrand. More and more of the world’s most used and most recognised brands online are moving to passkeys,” said Andrew Shikiar, CEO of FIDO Alliance.
“We expect to see a significant increase in the number of sites and services supporting passkeys over the next 12 months, and our research makes it clear that when offered, people prefer the better security and usability of passkeys over passwords.”
Microsoft rival Google has also been sharing updates on its journey to a passwordless future, claiming yesterday that more than 400m accounts have used passkeys since the Alphabet-owned company rolled them out, resulting in more than 1bn authentications.
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