Microsoft will soon be the passwords from the conductors – this is why Passkeys replaced them and what they have to do then
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Microsoft Is officially stored passwords in the Authenticator app. From August 2025, the app no longer supports autofill or password storage. Instead, users must replace stored passwords with passkeys – A new, safer login method That is bound by your device and biometric ID.
It is the newest move in Microsoft’s constant push to leave passwords. Last year the Tech giant reportedly detected 7,000 password attacks per second. With cyber attacks on the rise and user references in danger, Microsoft sees Passkeys as the center of a safer future.
But what are pass keys and why are they safer than passwords? And how long do you have it until Microsoft Authenticator for good forever? We have split everything you need to know.
What is Microsoft Authenticator?
Microsoft Authenticator is a free mobile app for Android and iOS devices. It helps you to log in more safely to your accounts. Originally designed as a two-factor authentication (2FA) tool for Microsoft accounts, later expanded it with support for saving and automatic passwords.
Users can use authenticator to save registrations, to synchronize them on devices and quickly cover their references on websites and apps. Once passwords are stored for authenticator, you can verify Sign-ins using your fingerprint, face recognition or a pin.
That is changing now. Microsoft is a Sunteting password support in Authenticator, instead to a newer, safer registration method: Passkeys.
When will Microsoft Authenticator passwords no longer work?
Microsoft has Already started taking out password support In authenticator. The timeline for taking stored passwords is as follows:
- June 2025: You can no longer add new passwords to the Authenticator app.
- From July 2025: Autofill functional for stored passwords is switched off, which means that the app does not automatically supplement login details automatically.
- From August 2025: All stored passwords are permanently removed from Microsoft Authenticator.
According to a report in the app you can export saved passwords “until Autofill ends”. You can do that by going to the settings menu and selecting ‘Export passwords’. Exported passwords can then be imported to another Autofill -ProviderIncluding your Google account or iCloud Key ring.
Alternatively you can engage Edge as your autofill provider. Simply tap ‘Tap on Edge’ from the same report. Because saved passwords are synchronized with your Microsoft account, Edge has access to your registration references, including autofill functionality.
What are Passkeys?
Passkeys are an alternative way to log in to your account. Instead of trusting a word or sentence that you have to remember or store, passkeys use biometrics or a pin to verify your identity.
Passkeys are a login data developed by the Fast Identity Online Alliance (FIDO). They use an open authentication protocol that is designed to completely replace passwords.
When you make a passkey, your device stores a private key. To log in, easily unlock your device using face recognition, your fingerprint or a pin code. That matching public key then verifies your identity online against the private key.
Why are Passkeys safer than passwords?
Passwords have long been the weakest link in online security. Since the arrival of passwords, people have been using weak, easily granted sentences to help them remember their own registration references. Many people also have the habit of reusing the same passwords or similar variants about different accounts.
This tactic makes users particularly vulnerable as a data breach exposes their password. Passwords also expose people to the risk of phishing -wangA growing number of them to steal their references.
Passkeys solve all these problems. Unlike passwords, they are not typed, sent or stored on a server. Passkeys are held on your own device. That means there is nothing for cyber criminals to intercept.
What is more because they are connected to both your device and your identity, they are a much stronger form of authentication than a standard password. They cannot be stolen or cracked like a password, even with brutal-force guesswork.
Passkeys also have the extra advantage that they are easier to use. Microsoft thinks that passkey reports have a success rate of 98%, compared to only 32% for passwords.
Because passkeys are linked to devices, some users will worry about losing their smartphone. However, many people already have and use several through Passkey Ready devices, including tablets and laptops with biometric support. Even if you lose access to one device, the others can be used as a backup.
Microsoft is not only in the insistence on user use. Google, Apple And AmazonAmong other things, all passkeys are hiring. The Fido alliance says that more than 15 billion accounts now support passkey reports. Microsoft has reported that the ‘nearly a million’ passkeys is registered every day.
How to set a passkey in Microsoft Authenticator
For existing authenticator -app users, it is easy to get started with Passkeys. Simply open the authenticator app, choose your account in the Settings menu and select ‘Select’ Set a passkey ‘. You will be asked to register with your account details before you are walked by the rest of the setup process.
If you first set authenticator, the app may ask you to allow authenticator as a source for passkeys in the menu password settings of your device. Do this, press continue and you are ready to use passkeys.
You can also configure Passkeys online via your Microsoft account. Log in to your Microsoft account and then look for ‘advanced security options’. Select ‘Add a new way to log in or verify’, followed by ‘face, fingerprint, pin or security key’.
According to An article published by MicrosoftIt will “automatically detect the best available method on your account and set it as standard”. That even means where you have both a password and a passkey setup for your account, it will always ask you for your passkey first.
New Microsoft accounts use standard passkeys. The registration process has also been redesigned and simplified to give priority to password -free registrations.
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