{"id":302303,"date":"2025-05-11T01:07:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-11T08:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/en\/?p=302303"},"modified":"2025-07-01T14:40:35","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T21:40:35","slug":"microsoft-finally-sidelines-passwords-what-happens-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/microsoft-finally-sidelines-passwords-what-happens-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft finally sidelines passwords: What happens now?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For decades, passwords have been the cornerstone of digital access<\/strong>, but Microsoft is now accelerating their decline. With a bold shift, the company has made it possible\u2014and even default\u2014to create Microsoft accounts without setting any passwords<\/strong>. Instead, users can log in using biometric methods like fingerprint or facial recognition, or a secure PIN, signaling a transformative step toward a passwordless future<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Passkeys take center stage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Microsoft\u2019s new default login experience revolves around passkeys<\/strong>, cryptographic credentials that are stored securely on the user’s device. When logging in, the system verifies identity locally without ever sharing sensitive data with the server. This eliminates the risk of phishing, interception, or password theft<\/strong>, offering a much safer and faster alternative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Security meets simplicity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In Microsoft\u2019s internal tests, users who logged in with passkeys had a 98% success rate<\/strong>, compared to just 32% for those using traditional passwords plus two-factor authentication. The login process with passkeys is up to eight times faster<\/strong>, and the company has already registered nearly a million new passkeys daily across its services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The end of passwords, or just the beginning?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While passwords aren\u2019t disappearing overnight<\/strong>, Microsoft is pushing users to phase them out. They remain available for older accounts, but new sign-ups are entirely password-free. However, users must manage their passkeys carefully. If all devices are lost, account recovery depends on having backup methods in place<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A broader shift in digital identity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Passkeys reflect a cultural shift in how we think about digital security<\/strong>. Major tech players like Google and PayPal are adopting similar systems. With Microsoft’s full commitment, a passwordless future now feels not only possible but imminent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For decades, passwords have been the cornerstone of digital access, but Microsoft is now accelerating their decline. With a bold shift, the company has made it possible\u2014and even default\u2014to create Microsoft accounts without setting any passwords. Instead, users can log in using biometric methods like fingerprint or facial recognition, or a secure PIN, signaling a transformative step … Continue reading “Microsoft finally sidelines passwords: What happens now?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9317,"featured_media":302304,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[1015],"tags":[],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-302303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9317"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302303"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":307098,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302303\/revisions\/307098"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/302304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302303"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=302303"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=302303"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=302303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}