 "Apple Passkey")
Apple on Wednesday announced that beginning with iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and macOS Sonoma, users with Apple IDs would automatically be assigned passkeys for sign-in authentication without passwords. It essentially means users with Apple ID would be able to sign in to any Apple service and web properties using passkey authentication.
Passkey support for sign-in authentication is arriving to all supported devices with the release of iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and macOS Sonoma later this year. Announced at the WWDC23, these platforms are currently running in beta versions for developers to test. Apple has enabled passkey support in beta versions too and users running beta versions of iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and macOS Sonoma can test it on iCloud.com and appleid.apple.com starting today.
What is a Passkey
Passkey is designed to enable password-less future for sign-in on the web and services. It authenticates user identity for account sign-in activity by using either on-device biometric hardware such as a fingerprint or facial recognition and even a PIN. Passkey is built on industry standards and works across different operating systems and browser ecosystems, and can be used for both websites and apps.
Based on FIDO Alliance and W3C standards, passkeys replace passwords with cryptographic key pairs. These key pairs improve security. Since passkey is linked with the app or website they were created for, it cannot be tricked to sign in to a fraudulent app or website.
Passkey uses AutoFill and Face ID or Touch ID for biometric verification. It can be used alongside passwords.
How do Passkeys work
Passkeys are based on public key cryptography, which matches a private key saved on a device with a public key sent to a web server. Therefore, when a user signs in to an account, their private key is verified by the app or website’s public key. It essentially means passkeys are end-to-end encrypted.
