Setup PassKey to Sign-in Without Password - Step-by-step guide included

Works across devices and services like Apple, Google, and Microsoft.

What is Passkey

Long story short: A secure standard/system by FIDO (Fast Identity Online) to sign in to online services and apps without a password. check more on the FIDO website.

Passkey is a key assigned to one website (like a replacement for your password) completely encrypted and shared across devices. Keychain is a like your password manager that manages your passkey.

How to log in?

To verify it is you, instead of entering passwords and 2-Factor authentication (like receiving a second verification code in SMS or using an authenticator app) you can verify your identity by the device you own and use often.

The website/app you trying to sign in and your device communicate with each other to verify whether it’s you or not.

End of the day, you don’t need any password to sign in.

Logging in another device with your phone

If you try to log in to a device that is not set for passkey authentication (in other words, doesn’t have security like a fingerprint, face ID, etc), the login window will present you with a QR code.

Scanning the QR code from your phone’s camera app (Passkey-enabled phone — Android or iOS) will authenticate the login.

Logging in within the same device

In this case, I use iCloud Keychain on my Mac to log in using my fingerprint.

Check this workflow where I use my fingerprint (no password) to log in to Google.

Setting Passkey for Google Account

Visit https://myaccount.google.com/signinoptions/passkeys to check the passkeys added to your account.

Here in the above example, I added Chrome and iCloud Keychain as the passkey manager for my Google account.

How to add a passkey to your Google account.

I made a small step-by-step guide here. This is for adding your Chrome as Passkey Manager on your Desktop (in my case it’s Mac).

To add your Android or your iPhone as your keychain manager, follow the same step in the selected device.

Key Manager / Keychain

Chrome Passwords and iCloud Keychain are a few services you can use for free. Chrome is suitable for all.

I personally use 1PassWord for managing my passwords and passkey (yes 1Password supports passkey management —recently).

Few things before winding up…

This technology is rolling out widely and fast. Almost all major websites and apps now support this type of authentication.

Whether you like this or not, this is replacing 2nd-factor authentication and passwords sooner than you think. Learn and use this before anyone to save your time.

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