Learnings From 6 Months About User Devices' Passkey-Readiness

Since the three major digital leaders, Apple, Google and Microsoft, are pushing passkeys as new login standard, the current technical support for passkeys is already quite high. To prove that the vast majority of users are "passkey-ready," Corbado has developed a free tool that analyzes how many of your users devices are technically able to use passkeys. In the following article, we will share our insights on current data we gained over the past six months.

1. What does passkey-ready mean?#

Passkey-ready means that a device is able to create and use passkeys for authentication (e.g. via facial recognition, fingerprint scan or PIN pattern). In general, there is a further distinction between passkeys that are available on a single device and passkeys that are automatically synced in a cloud account (e.g., Apple iCloud KeyChain, Google Password Manager, or Microsoft account). In the following, we include both types of passkeys for the analysis.

The current technical support in practice is already very high with over 80% of all devices supporting passkeys (see our data below). All three major platforms have announced their full support meaning passkeys will be available on all new devices and thus will be available presumably on more than 95% of all devices soon.

1.1 Apple#

• Synced passkeys: available on iPhones with iOS 16+, iPads with iPadOS 16+ and MacBooks with macOS Ventura, Monterey and Big Sur
• Non-synced passkeys: available for iPhones with iOS 15+, iPads with iPadOS 15+ and MacBooks with macOS Catalina+

1.2 Google#

• Synced passkeys: available on Android devices with Android 9+
• Non-synced passkeys: available on Android devices with Android 7+

1.3 Microsoft:#

• Synced passkeys: available soon with a new Windows Hello update
• Non-synced passkeys: available for devices with Windows 10 (activated Windows Hello) and 11

2. In 2023, >80% are passkey-ready#

To validate if the vast majority of your customers are "passkey-ready, Corbado built a free tool that analyzes how many of your users are technically ready to use passkeys. Thereby, the following data is gathered and used to for the analysis:

1. WebAuthn support: the device and browser combinations support for WebAuthn, the underlying technology of passkeys
2. Platform auth support: the existence of a devices built-in authenticator (e.g., Face ID, Touch ID or Windows Hello)
3. Conditional UI support: the device and browser combinations support for Conditional UI which allows to automatically fill in passkeys including the identifier in login forms which is another major advancement in authentication

In our demo, developer panel and website, users have been able to test passkeys over the past six months. We have evaluated anonymous, technical data regarding their passkey-readiness. The number of visitors was in general a medium-sized four-digit number in the analyzed months. Based on that, the following insights were gained:

1. Almost 100% of devices and browsers support WebAuthn. This was expected as mainly digital users with modern devices and browsers visited our services. Checking the raw data there was just a tiny fraction (less than 0.1%) using an outdated browser or device.
2. Platform auth support is available on >80% of the devices and the trend is increasing. This was very interesting to see that most devices already have the required hardware to use passkeys (e.g., facial recognition, fingerprint scanner or PIN pattern). This also proves that a lot of desktop devices already support passkeys. We expect this number to increase even more as old devices are being replaced over time.
3. Over 70% of device and browser combinations support Conditional UI. From the data, it is obvious that the support increased drastically in November when Chrome and Safari announced their support and made it available for all users (before it was only available for developers which explains the low support until November).

To sum these findings up: most (>80%) user devices are passkey-ready today (based on the visitors from our sites). We keep on analyzing the data and expect platform auth and Conditional UI support to increase steadily over time.

3. Determine your users passkey-readiness#

As passkeys are the new login standard on the web, you should consider an integration into your websites and apps soon. If you are not sure how many of your users are passkey-ready, check out State of Passkeys for comprehensive data on passkey-readiness across platforms, browsers and operating systems.

Start offering passkey logins to your users. Trust us: once they experienced passkeys they will be using and demanding them.

Start your passkeys journey now and check out State of Passkeys to find out the latest data on passkey-readiness.

Frequently Asked Questions#

How can I find out what percentage of my website's users are ready to use passkeys?#

Check out State of Passkeys for comprehensive data on passkey-readiness across platforms, browsers and operating systems. The data covers all major devices and can help you assess your user base's readiness for passkeys.

What is the difference between synced and non-synced passkeys, and which devices support each?#

Synced passkeys are stored in a cloud account such as iCloud Keychain, Google Password Manager or a Microsoft account and are available across multiple devices, while non-synced passkeys exist only on a single device. Synced passkeys require newer OS versions: iOS 16+ for Apple and Android 9+ for Google, whereas non-synced passkeys work on iOS 15+ and Android 7+ respectively.

Why did Conditional UI support for passkeys increase so sharply in late 2023?#

Conditional UI support jumped to over 70% of device and browser combinations after Chrome and Safari released the feature to all users in November 2023, having previously restricted it to developers only. Conditional UI allows login forms to automatically suggest and fill passkeys including the user identifier, making the sign-in experience significantly smoother.

Which minimum OS versions are required to use passkeys on iOS, Android and Windows?#

On Apple devices, non-synced passkeys require iOS 15+ or macOS Catalina+, while synced passkeys require iOS 16+ or macOS Ventura. On Android, non-synced passkeys require Android 7+ and synced passkeys require Android 9+. For Windows, non-synced passkeys require Windows 10 with Windows Hello activated or Windows 11.