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Passkeys are the passwordless future, but they're a mess


Passkeys promise to replace passwords. The reality is far more confusing.

Unlike password data, which can be breached, phished, quished, vished, and smished, passkeys require an encrypted private key that (at least theoretically) only you have. Passkeys don't necessarily "suck" -- they're far more secure than passwords -- but they feel broken in practice because of ecosystem lock-in, poor cross-platform usability, and confusing recovery processes. Be aware that the act of implementing passkeys won't directly increase your account protection if there is still a username and password system in place.

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