Microsoft makes passkeys default for new accounts

Microsoft will ask users creating new accounts to sign in with passkeys by default rather than passwords. Passkeys are ways of signing in without a password, such as by receiving a message or PIN on another device. Microsoft announced the move on Thursday 1 May, which tech companies have called World Password Day in recent years – though the company suggested it should be renamed ‘World Passkey Day’. It said new accounts are now “passwordless by default” and that new users “will have several pas...