Microsoft officially saved passwords in its authentificator app. From August 2025, the app no longer supports autofill or password storage. Instead, users need replacement of saved passwords with Paskers – a new, safer login method bound to your device and biometric ID.
It is the latest step in Microsoft’s continuous push to leave passwords. Last year, the tech giant allegedly discovered 7,000 password attacks per year. Second. With cyberattacks on the increase and user information at risk, Microsoft sees Pasker as central to a safer future.
But what are Passkey’s and why are they safer than passwords? And how long do you have until Microsoft Authenticator forgets your passwords for good? We’ve broken down everything you need to know right here.
What is Microsoft Authenticator?
Microsoft Authenticator is a free mobile app for Android and iOS devices. It helps you log in to your accounts safer. Originally designed as a two-factor approval (2FA) tool for Microsoft accounts, it was later expanded to include support to store and autofill passwords.
Users could use authenticator to store login, synchronize them across devices and quickly autofilled their credentials on sites and apps. When passwords were stored for authentication, you can verify registrations using your fingerprint, face recognition or a pin.
It is changing now. Microsoft is sunset password support in authentificator, which switches instead to a newer, safer login method: Pakkeys.
When does Microsoft Authenticator stop passwords work?
Microsoft has already begun to run password support in authentication. Its timeline for phasing out saved passwords is as follows:
- June 2025: You can no longer add new passwords to the Authenticator app.
- From July 2025: AutoFill functional for saved passwords will be disabled, which means the app did not automatically complete login information.
- From August 2025: All saved passwords are permanently removed from Microsoft Authenticator.
According to a review in the app, you can export saved passwords “until AutoFill ends”. You can do this by going to the Settings menu and selecting ‘Export passwords’. Exported passwords can then be imported to another autofill provider, including your Google account or iCloud Keychain.
Alternatively, you can activate edge as your autofill provider. From the same review, simply press ‘Turn on Edge’. Because saved passwords are synchronized with your Microsoft account, Edge has access to your login credentials, including autofill functionality.
What is Passkeys?
Pakkeys is an alternative way to log in to your account. Instead of relying on a word or phrase that you need to remember or save, use Pakkeys Biometry or a PIN to verify your identity.
Baskeys is a legitimation developed by Fast Identity Online Alliance (FIDO). They use an open approval protocol designed to replace passwords completely.
When you create a Passkey, your device saves a private key. To log in, simply unlock your device using face recognition, your fingerprint or a PIN number. The matching public key then verifies your identity online against the private key.
Why are Paskers safer than passwords?
Passwords have long been the weakest link in online security. Since the advent of passwords, people have used weak, easily guessing sentences to help them remember their own registration information. Many people also have a habit of recycling the same passwords or similar variants across different accounts.
This tactic leaves users in particular vulnerable if a data violation exposes their password. Passwords also expose people to the risk of phishing fraud, a growing number of which aim to steal their credentials.
Pakkeys solve all these problems. Unlike passwords, they are not written, sent or stored on a server. Pakkeys are stored on your own device. This means that there is nothing for cyber criminals to intercept.
What’s more because they are bound to both your device and your identity, they are a much stronger form of approval than a standard password. They cannot be stolen or cracked as a password, even with brute-force guesswork.
Passingys also have the added advantage of being easier to use. Microsoft expects Passkey registrations to have a 98% success rate compared to only 32% for passwords.
Because parcels are linked to devices, some users will be worried about losing their smartphone. However, many people already own and use several Passkey-clear devices, including tablets and laptops with biometric support. Even if you lose access to a device, the others can be used as a backup.
Microsoft is not alone in pushing for Passkey use. Google, Apple and Amazon, among others, adopt all bags. The Fido Alliance says that more than 15 billion accounts are now supporting Passkey Login. Microsoft has reported that it sees that ‘almost a million’ Pakkeys are registered every day.
To create a Passkey in Microsoft Authenticator
For existing Applicator app users, it’s straightforward to get started with spases. Simply open the Authenticator app, select your account from the Settings menu and select ‘Create a Passkey’. You will be asked to log in with your account information before going through the rest of the installation process.
If you create authentication for the first time, the app may ask you to allow authentication as a source of Pakkeys in your device’s password settings menu. Do this, Ram Continue and you are ready to use Pakkeys.
You can also configure Passkeyys through your Microsoft account online. Log in to your Microsoft account, and local then ‘Advanced Security Options’. Select ‘Add a new way to log in or verify’, followed by ‘face, fingerprints, pin or security key’.
According to an article published by Microsoft, it will “automatically detect the best available method in your account and set it by default”. This means that even where you have both a password and a bagy created for your account, it will always ask you for your Passkey first.
By default, new Microsoft accounts will use Paskers. The registration process has also been redesigned and simplified to prioritize password-free login.
