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Amazon is the latest company to embrace passkeys. The e-commerce giant has announced that users can now sign in to their Amazon accounts using the new authentication system. The feature is available on the iOS app as well as the web version, with support for the Android app coming soon. The traditional passwords aren’t going away.
Amazon adds support for passkeys
Passkeys are an alternative to passwords that you use to sign in to your online accounts. The new tech has several advantages over the age-old method, hence companies are encouraging their customers to adopt it. Firstly, you don’t need to manually create a passkey and memorize it or use a password manager to store it securely. Your device will locally store the passkey for your account.
To access the account, you have to simply unlock your phone or computer using any of the existing unlocking options such as PIN or fingerprint authentication. This makes the log-in process faster and more convenient. Since passkeys are stored on the device, they are more secure too. Data breaches won’t compromise your account, which isn’t the case with traditional passwords.
Over the past few months, Google, PayPal, TikTok, 1Password, Uber, eBay, and many others have added support for passkeys. Amazon is now joining this bandwagon. To set up a passkey, open the app or log in to your Amazon account on the web. Now go to Your Account, select Login & Security, and select Set up next to Passkeys. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup process.
“This is about giving customers ease-of-use and security simultaneously in their Amazon experience,” said Dave Treadwell, senior vice president of e-commerce at Amazon. “While passwords will still be around in the foreseeable future, this is an exciting step in the right direction. We are thrilled to be an early adopter of this new authentication method, helping to realize our vision for a more secure, passwordless internet.”
Google recently made passkeys default for all users
Amazon’s move comes shortly after Google made passkeys default for all users. Anyone can now skip passwords and use the newer and more secure authentication system to access their Google account. Unsurprisingly, the company is keeping passwords around too. That’s because “new technologies take time to catch on.” Not everyone is aware of the change or willing to make the shift. It might still take a few years before passkeys completely replace passwords.