Anyone setting up a new Microsoft account will soon find they’re encouraged to use a passkey during the sign up process. Microsoft is moving away from the default of passwords for all new accounts allowing you to ditch them altogether in favor of a passkey.

Last May, Microsoft introduced passkey support across most of its consumer apps allowing you to sign into your account without the need for 2FA methods or remembering long passwords. A year later, it’s now encouraging all new signs up to use passkeys as it removes passwords as the default.

PCMag attempted to sign up for a new Microsoft account on May 2 and we found that it did still ask 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.

You’ve been able to set up a passkey with a new account ever since Microsoft introduced the feature in 2024, but this is now the first time you can go entirely passwordless on a new account. Previously, accounts had to have one alongside your passkey.

The blog post from Microsoft announcing the features encourages all users to move to passkeys. It says 98% of passkey attempts to login are successful, while passwords are only on 32%. Microsoft is also introducing what it calls a “streamlined” new 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 the company has decided to move toward celebrating it as “World Passkey Day”. The company says, “To commemorate this renaming, 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.”

Research by the Fast Identity Online Alliance (FIDO) found that 75% of people in the US are aware of passkeys, but only 42% of people have enacted one on an account. It also found 23% of respondents had moved to passkeys across all their compatible accounts.

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About James Peckham

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I’ve written tech news for over a decade, and as a Reporter at PCMag, I cover the latest developments across the gadgets and services you use every day. Previously, I worked for Android Police, TechRadar, and more.

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