What the heck are Passkeys? An explainer.
Reading Time: 4 minutes 
I constantly advise my clients to be as secure as possible in anything they do with technology. From two-factor authentication to firewalls and security scans, these are necessary — not optional.
Many still do not use 2FA because it is a PIA. Well, that’s the point. If you don’t have the code, you can’t access the website. Enter passkeys. Passkeys are a simpler, safer way to sign in to websites and apps without typing (or remembering) a password.
Think of a passkey as a digital key that lives on your phone or computer. When a site supports them, you unlock that key the same way you unlock your device—with your face, fingerprint, or a quick PIN. That’s it. No more hunting for the right password, no more “forgot password” resets, and far less chance of getting tricked by a fake login page.
(BTW, if you use LastPass as I do, you don’t have to remember any passwords or keys.)
Why Passkeys are Better than Passwords
Passwords have always been a headache, right? We reuse them, oversimplify them, or write them down. Scammers love phishing emails that trick people into typing passwords on fake sites. Data breaches dump millions of passwords online.
Passkeys fix most of that:
Your biometric data (face or fingerprint) stays on your device. It’s never sent to the website.
How to Start Using Passkeys
Not every site offers them yet, but the big ones do—Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, PayPal, and many banks and shopping sites. The list keeps growing.
Creating a passkey is usually straightforward:
- Sign in to the site or app as usual (with your current password).
- Look in your account or security settings for an option like “Create a passkey,” “Add passkey,” or “Passwordless sign-in.”
- Follow the prompts. Your device will ask you to confirm with Face ID, Touch ID, fingerprint, Windows Hello, or your device PIN.
- Done. The passkey is saved.
The next time you visit that site, it should offer the passkey option. Confirm with your usual unlock method, and you’re in.
Where the Passkey “Lives”
Most people store them in the built-in system on their device (iCloud Keychain on Apple devices, Google Password Manager on Android/Chrome, Windows Hello on PCs). I use LastPass for all my login credentials so I don’t have to remember a thing.
What’s also cool is that these can sync across your devices when you’re signed in to the same account. Many password managers also support passkeys now if you prefer to keep everything in one place.
A Few Practical Tips
Passkeys aren’t magic, and they aren’t everywhere yet, but they’re one of the rare security upgrades that actually make daily life easier instead of harder. How cool is that!?
If a site you use offers the option, take a couple of minutes and set one up. You’ll wonder why you put up with passwords for so long.
At your service,
