When Are Passkeys Coming?

When Are Passkeys Coming?#

Passkeys have already started to roll out as a replacement for passwords, with major tech companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft announcing support for them in 2022. The first broad availability came with iOS 16 in 2022, marking a significant milestone in user authentication.

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The History and Evolution of Passkeys#

Passkeys are a product of the FIDO (Fast Identity Online) Alliance, an industry consortium founded in 2012 with the goal of developing authentication standards that reduce the reliance on passwords. The FIDO Alliance recognized the vulnerabilities associated with passwords, such as weak credentials and phishing attacks, and sought to create a more secure and user-friendly alternative.

The Role of Major Tech Companies#

In 2022, passkeys gained significant momentum when Apple, Google, and Microsoft - three of the biggest names in tech - announced their commitment to supporting passkeys across their platforms. This was a huge moment, as it signaled the beginning of a widespread shift away from passwords.

• Apple: Introduced passkeys in iOS 16, allowing users to authenticate securely without passwords. This marked the first broad availability of passkeys and set the stage for their adoption across other platforms.
• Google: Followed closely with support for passkeys in its Android operating system and Chrome browser, making the technology accessible to billions of users worldwide.
• Microsoft: Integrated passkeys into Windows, enabling secure authentication for users.

Current Status and Future Outlook#

As of now, passkeys are being gradually rolled out across various platforms. While the transition from passwords to passkeys will take time, the groundwork has been laid for a future where passwords are obsolete. The FIDO Alliance and its partners are working to ensure that passkeys become the standard for secure online authentication.

• 2022: The first wave of passkey support was introduced, primarily by Apple, Google, and Microsoft.
• 2023 and beyond: More applications are expected to adopt passkeys, with ongoing improvements to interoperability and user experience.

Passkeys are here, and they are the future of user authentication. The question is not "if" but "when" they will fully replace passwords. With continued support from major tech companies and the ongoing efforts of the FIDO Alliance, it’s only a matter of time before passkeys become the norm.

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About Corbado

Corbado is the Passkey Intelligence Platform for CIAM teams running consumer authentication at scale. We help you see what IDP logs and generic analytics tools can't: which devices, OS versions, browsers and credential managers support passkeys, why enrollments don't turn into logins, where the WebAuthn flow fails and when an OS / browser update silently breaks login, all without replacing Okta, Auth0, Ping, Cognito or your in-house IDP. Two products: Corbado Observe layers observability for passkeys and any other login method. Corbado Connect adds managed passkeys with analytics built in (alongside your IDP). VicRoads runs passkeys for 5M+ users with Corbado (+80% passkey activation). Talk to a Passkey Expert →