Since the last Apple developer conference, the Cupertino company has made us wait for some universal implementations that have captured all our curiosity, and they are none other than compatibility with Matter, the new integrated and universal home automation system, as well as Passkeys , the system universal identification compatible with all types of software.
We show you how Passkeys works, the ability to log into any website from your iPhone without the need for passwords. We’ll show you what this breakthrough feature is that is already built into competing services like Google Chrome and will allow you to easily log in from anywhere.
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What are Passkeys?
Passwords have expired and are increasingly a security concern, not to mention that managing and storing all the passwords we use every day means that the vast majority of users use the same password on almost all websites. The result is massive leaks, and the fact that even with a single security breach,
For this reason, and although it may seem incredible, the only solution is to end passwords permanently. That’s what big tech companies mean with the use of Passkeys, an identification system that is not only based on a combination of characters, but on many other factors that make the connection much more secure and also much more accessible.
The basis of this system is simple, it uses end-to-end encryption to connect, the same security mechanism that companies like WhatsApp use so that no one can intercept our private conversations, something “virtually” inaccessible thanks to its asymmetrical keys.
We won’t bore you much more with the technical aspect of Passkeys, since the magic was created by the developers and we are only here to teach you how to use it.
The idea is that the website that claims to allow us to log in via Passkeys sends a “message” with a key that only the person interested in logging in can unlock. Thus, cWhen we register on a website, our device generates and locally stores a private key, which is stored in iCloud in the case of Apple, and releases a public key.
In this way, the website issues a key that can only be decrypted by the other key stored locally on the iPhone, so a signature similar to the one we perform through the digital certificate will be performed.
I completely agree with the most specialists in the field that we have made a banal and simplified explanation of the matter, I hope you will forgive me, and we can Let’s focus on the topic at hand: how to use passkeys to log into your iPhone.
Why is Passkeys more secure?
As we have already said, Passkeys is much more secure than any type of password, since the relationship of the characters and their introduction do not depend on us, which for convenience we tend to always enter the same. However, There are many other reasons why its security is notoriously superior to that of any type of password:
- It is impossible to filter a Passkey through an attack on the servers of the website on which we want to connect, since only 50% of the necessary content is stored.
- It would be too complex to subject the user to an attack of Phishing use access keys with the intent to steal data
- We will finally be able to do without the slow and annoying two-factor authentication system.
- It will synchronize between all our devices, we will only need the two to connect easily.
These are certainly some of the most important reasons why Passkeys can be a before and after in the way of logging in.
How to use Passkeys on your iPhone
You need to consider the first and most important thing, in order to use Passkeys on your iPhone and on your Mac, you will need to update to iOS 16.1 and macOS Ventura respectively.
Once you have the latest versions of the operating system from the Cupertino company, you will be able to use Access keys through several devices, or only through one of them.
But now we come to the important thing, how it is used. Of course, the integration procedure Access keys it is gradually being integrated into all websites, one of the most relevant is precisely eBay, although there are many others, notifications will appear every time you log in.
If you want to easily check how it works, This site is the free and fast alternative for this.
- Log in or create an account on a website compatible with Passkeys.
- Once logged in, a notification from Passkeys will appear and offer you the login alternatives, accept the conditions.
- Select the “other connection methods” option.
- The option to use an “iPhone, iPad or Android device” will appear
- Now the instructions will tell you to scan the QR code that will appear on the screen with your iPhone camera.
- When you scan the QR code, your iPhone will ask you to identify yourself with Face ID, then agree to store the Passkey.
Once you have stored the Passkey on your iPhone, every time you go to login, choose the option to identify yourself with your iPhone, In this case, a QR code will be displayed on the screen which, scanned with your iPhone, will allow you to connect very quickly.