WWDC 2022: Apple Announces Passkey feature

Apple announced today that it will be implementing its Passkey feature across iOS and macOS devices, enabling users to manage accounts via biometric authentication. You’ll be able to use either Face ID or Touch ID to automatically fill in your log in information when accessing apps, websites, and programs on your iPhone, iPad, MacBook, or iMac device. 

Passkeys can better protect your accounts from phishing scams or unauthorized access because they are encrypted, unlike passwords which can be cracked with specialized software or easily guessed with just a few extra bits of personal information. Apple also claims that Passkeys cannot be phished or leaked since they never leave the device they were created on. This means that hackers and scammers can’t trick you into sharing your Passkey with a fake log in portal or scrape your information from a remote server.

Apple also has plans for Passkeys to work across Android, Linux, and Windows platforms so you can use your iPhone or iPad to log into your accounts on non-iOS or non-macOS devices. That would make checking in at your doctor’s office or paying for grocery orders much faster, easier, and more secure. 

But before you throw out all those sticky notes and unsubscribe from your password manager, developers still need time to integrate Passkeys into their websites, programs, and applications. And once they do, you’ll be able to use one Passkey across all of your devices and accounts for faster, more secure log-ins. You’ll have to use each device at least once to access your accounts when setting up your Passkey, but when you have everything configured and integrated, your Passkey will allow you to seamlessly switch between your devices and public terminals as support becomes more widespread.