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How do I replace weak passwords with passkeys?

By Adam Neely
Quick answer: Passkeys use your device’s secure unlock instead of a reusable password, making phishing much harder.

Passkeys use your device’s secure unlock instead of a reusable password, making phishing much harder.

Passkeys use your device’s secure unlock instead of a reusable password, making phishing much harder.

Why passkeys beat even strong passwords

A password is a secret you hand over — and anything you can hand over can be tricked out of you by a look-alike site. A passkey flips the design: your device keeps a private key that never leaves it, and the website holds a matching public key that is useless alone. There is nothing to phish, nothing to reuse on other sites, and nothing to remember.

What to do, step by step

  1. Start with your most valuable account — your email — since it can reset everything else you own.
  2. Create the passkey on each device you use regularly; most services let you register several.
  3. Keep one backup method current (a recovery email or printed codes) so a lost phone does not lock you out of your own life.
Pro tip: Store your printed recovery codes where you'd keep a spare house key, not in a photo on the phone itself. A lost phone plus codes in the camera roll hands a thief both locks at once.
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