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Anyone setting up a new Microsoft account will soon find they’re encouraged to use a passkey during the sign-up process.
Microsoft introduced passkey support across most of its consumer apps last year, allowing users to sign into their accounts without the need for 2FA methods or remembering long passwords. A year later, it's removing passwords as the default and encouraging all new signups to use passkeys.
PCMag attempted to sign up for a new Microsoft account on May 2, but it still asked for a password at the time of publication. Microsoft hasn't shared an exact timeframe for when the change will take place, but you should expect it to happen in the coming days.
This is the first time a new account can be entirely passwordless. Previously, it had to have one alongside your passkey.
In a blog post, Microsoft says 98% of passkey attempts to log in are successful, while passwords are only at 32%. Microsoft is also introducing what it calls a “streamlined” sign-in experience for all accounts that “prioritizes passwordless methods for sign-in and sign-up.” It means some UX design changes to highlight passkey functionality.
May 1 was World Password Day, but Microsoft will now celebrate it as "World Passkey Day," something encouraged by the FIDO Alliance, the organization behind passkeys. "Microsoft and dozens of other organizations have taken the Passkey Pledge to work toward increasing the implementation and adoption of passkeys over the coming year," it says.
Recent FIDO research found that 75% of people in the US are aware of passkeys, but only 42% of people have enacted one on an account. About 23% of respondents have moved to passkeys across all their compatible accounts.