Microsoft is fully committed to passkeys and is now taking the biggest step yet towards a future without passwords.
Microsoft is now definitively leaving the classic password behind, according to The Verge. New users signing up for a Microsoft account will no longer be presented with a password option by default. Instead, they must choose safer alternatives such as passkeys, push notifications, or security keys.
New Accounts, New Habits
The company is also adjusting the interface of its sign-in window to make the user experience smoother and better aligned with passwordless authentication. Microsoft now explicitly calls the new accounts passwordless by default. This means you no longer need to create a password during registration, and existing users can remove their password through the settings if they wish.
The shift doesn’t come out of nowhere. Microsoft has been supporting alternative login methods for years, and last year passkey support was rolled out for consumer accounts.
World Password Day Becomes World Passkey Day
Symbolically, Microsoft is renaming the annual ‘World Password Day’ to ‘World Passkey Day’. The company states in the announcement that nearly a million passkeys are now being created daily and that 98 percent of users log in with them without issues, compared to only 32 percent with traditional passwords.
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