ANOTHER death knell has rung for passwords – the traditional secret word or phrase that you use to gain access to your accounts.
WhatsApp has launched support for passkey verification on the iOS version of the app, so iPhone owners can login with a fingerprint or face ID.
Your passkey doesn’t have to be a biometric ID like your fingerprint or face, it can also be a PIN stored on Apple’s passkey manager.
It essentially lets users login more securely, without having to use an SMS one-time passcode.
Users can enable it by going to Settings > Account > Passkeys.
“Passkey verification will make logging back into WhatsApp easier and more secure,” says Alice Newton-Rex, Head of Product at WhatsApp.
“We’re excited to launch this on WhatsApp and give users an added layer of security.”
Bye bye passwords, hello passkeys
This move by WhatsApp points to a wider trend within the Big Tech industry, where companies are trying to phase out traditional passwords.
Last year, Google began urging users to delete their passwords and replace them with passkeys instead.
Passwords have been deemed too risky with the scale and sophistication of phishing attacks that we see today.
People often opt for simple passwords and re-use them across websites, which makes them prime targets for cybercriminals.
And even if you choose a strong and unique password, it could still be hacked or leaked.
By comparison, a passkey lets you log in using the same technique you use to unlock your phone.
These systems use “secure cryptography” to make sure your passkey can never be leaked.
And one bonus is that they’re so much harder to forget.
“We’ve found that one of the most immediate benefits of passkeys is that they spare people the headache of remembering all those numbers and special characters in passwords,” Google said.
Meta – which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp – is rolling out passkeys across all its platforms.
X (formerly known as Twitter) has done the same.
It helps put a stop to scammers attempting account takeovers by tricking users into sharing their SMS passcode.
Passkey support has been available for Android users for months.
It will rollout to iOS users worldwide in the coming weeks.
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