Apple announced during its WWDC keynote that it will be rolling out passwordless logins to iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV near the final release of iOS 16 and macOS Ventura in September. which could mark the end of passwords (via Wired).
The company said that instead of using passwords to log into websites and apps, you’ll be able to use “passkeys” with iOS 16 and macOS Ventura. These Passkeys create new digital keys using Touch ID or Face ID to authenticate and log in. “This is the first major real-world change to eliminating passwords.”
Once a password is created for a website, logging into that website using passwords will allow you to prove who you are using your biometrics rather than entering a password.
When you sign in to a website on a Mac, a prompt will appear on your iPhone or iPad to verify your identity. Apple says its passkeys will sync across your devices using iCloud’s Keychain, and passkeys are stored on your devices rather than on servers.
Apple’s authentication keys are based on the Web Authentication API and are end-to-end encrypted so no one can read them, including Apple.
This decision will greatly reduce the likelihood of successful phishing attacks, since passwords cannot be stolen during data breaches if they don’t exist in the first place.