Passkeys are FIDO-approved digital credentials that provide a faster, more secure and frictionless login experience for all users on web/mobile applications without involving passwords. Using reused or fragile passwords with weak security can cost users sensitive personal information. Passkeys use alternative authentication parameters such as the user’s biometrics (Face ID, Touch ID), passwords, PINs etc to successfully complete an authentication procedure.
Passkeys are based on public key cryptography and generate a pair of keys — one public key and one private key stored on the device. The public key is stored in the cloud and shared between devices that have their own private keys.
Passkey is based on WebAuthn standard, so users can use biometric authentication like Face ID or Touch ID or a PIN to validate a login attempt. At a higher level, instead of relying on the username-password combination, passkeys use your device to prove that you are the legitimate owner of the account. Passkeys are cross-platform, easy to generate and can be synced to the iCloud keychain, easily accessible to other devices owned by the user.
Passkeys have been created to completely replace passwords to become the primary authentication protocol and transform the way we do logins and signups. Passwords are faulty, hard to remember and very prone to hacking.
Passkeys can help in faster, more secure and frictionless authentication, completely independent of passwords. Through passkeys, users can experience one-step login into any compatible web/mobile application by validating their identity through the face or touch ID, pattern or PIN.
Passwords can be troublesome for users, business owners and developers alike. Most users create easily memorable passwords that are very weak in security. Moreover, hackers have access to sophisticated password-cracking tools that can help them penetrate any user’s account with ease.
Passkeys are based on industry standards for digital credentials that use alternate authentication protocols such as Face ID, Touch ID, PIN or pattern to enable a faster, more secure and frictionless login experience, contributing to a great customer experience. They are safe from server leaks as servers only keep public keys, servers are less valuable targets for hackers. They are safe from phishing as passkeys are intrinsically linked with the app or website they were created for, so people can never be tricked into using their passkey to sign in to a fraudulent app or website. Passkeys are cross-platform, easy to generate and can be easily synced to the device's Google Keyword Manager or iCloud Keychain, making it very simple to use by customers.
With the launch of IOS 16 and macOS Ventura, Apple has made passkeys available to their user base. With time, several companies will be switching from the traditional password protocol to the passwordless authentication protocol.
Users can now experience effortless sign-in using passkeys on all compatible websites or mobile applications. Login procedure using passkeys can be completed using biometric parameters, patterns or PINs.
Yes! The user’s biometric information remains completely safe when they use passkeys as the biometric information is stored within the user’s phone. Passkeys generate two keys- a public key, stored within the server database and a private key, stored within the user’s phone.
During authentication, the biometric information never leaves the user’s phone. Rather, once the user completes the authentication using biometric verification, a confirmation of this verification is sent from the user’s phone to the server declaring that the biometric check was successful.
Passkeys stored within a user’s phone can be verified and used to access a website/ mobile application. Once a user opens the login page of a passkey-compatible website/ mobile app, the website provides a QR code displayed on the screen. When the user scans the code, their passkey is automatically verified by the website and access is given.
Based on FIDO Alliance and W3C standards, passkeys replace passwords with cryptographic key pairs. These key pairs dramatically improve security. They’re never guessable, reused, or weak.
Passkeys are based on public key cryptography and generate two keys- a public key and a private key. While the public key is available within the server database, the private key is saved within the user’s device.
The website will verify the presence of both the public and private keys to allow access to any users. Due to the presence of more than one layer of verification, passkeys are considered Multi-factor Authentication.
Yes, it is completely safe to do a passkey sign-in on a nearby device using Bluetooth as passkeys are end-to-end encrypted and uses Bluetooth Low Energy to enable proximity verification and allow signing in to any device without the risk of being hacked. Passkeys are extremely simple and can be generated using a simple single-step sign-in procedure. Once a user clicks on the “Sign-in with Passkeys” option on the website, they are asked to verify their identity using biometric methods such as Face ID or Touch ID. On providing the necessary biometric verification, passkeys are generated and ready to be used for the device.
Solution such SoundAuth helps companies to adopt passkeys within minutes instead months. SoundAuth is extremely easy to integrate and implement. If you’re considering adopting passkeys, we’d love to help you create a secure and seamless passkey integration. to know more signup here