Microsoft Pushes Passkeys as Passwords Are No Longer Enough

Microsoft is pushing passkeys as a replacement for passwords. The company published a blog post on World Password Day advocating for the shift. New Microsoft accounts are now passwordless by default. Existing users can remove their passwords manually.

Passkeys replace passwords for Microsoft accounts

Windows 11 supports passkeys from third-party managers like 1Password and Bitwarden. Microsoft Password Manager syncs passkeys to iOS and Android via Edge. The FIDO Alliance estimates 5 billion passkeys are in use worldwide. Microsoft reports that hundreds of millions of users have switched to passkeys for services like OneDrive and Xbox.

Inside Microsoft, the company eliminated weaker authentication methods and rolled out phishing-resistant authentication. This covers 99.6% of users and devices in its environment. The company says this has made signing in simpler with no codes or extra prompts.

Starting January 2027, security questions will no longer reset Microsoft Entra ID passwords. Microsoft has not confirmed the exact timeline for broader passkey adoption across all its services.