Passkeys vs Passwords: What They Are and Why You Should Switch
Passkeys let you sign in with your fingerprint, face or device PIN instead of a password. Here’s how they work and why they’re safer.
Passwords have been the weakest link in online security for decades. They get reused, guessed, leaked and phished. Passkeys are the industry’s answer — and they’re now supported by major platforms and many popular websites.
In this article5 sections
What is a passkey?
A passkey is a pair of cryptographic keys. The public key is stored by the website; the private key stays on your device or in your password manager. When you sign in, your device proves it has the private key — after you unlock it with your fingerprint, face or PIN.
Why passkeys are safer
- Phishing-resistant: a passkey only works on the real website it was created for.
- Nothing to leak: the site never stores a secret that attackers could steal and reuse.
- No reuse: every site gets its own unique key automatically.
How to start using passkeys
- Open the security settings of an account that supports passkeys.
- Choose “Create a passkey”.
- Confirm with your fingerprint, face or device PIN.
- Next time, choose “Sign in with a passkey”.
Passkeys can sync across your devices through your platform account or password manager, so losing one phone doesn’t lock you out.
What about sites that still need passwords?
Use a password manager and a long, random, unique password for every account, and turn on two-factor authentication wherever possible.
Try it: generate a strong random password — free, no sign-up.
Final thoughts
Passkeys are faster to use and far harder to steal than passwords. Switch your most important accounts first — email, banking and work tools — and let your password manager handle the rest.
