Photo: Madison Rogers/WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — A movement in the tech world to leave behind passwords and use passkeys is catching on.
With social media, email, streaming accounts and other websites, a person can have a lot of passwords that they have to keep track of.
“When they say your password’s been compromised, I don’t change it,” said Malcolm from Roxbury. “I don’t feel like I have anything to lose,” he continued.
“I probably change my passwords once or twice a year,” said Michael from Roxbury.
This frustration and hopeless feeling over memorizing tons of passwords is why more companies are moving to use passkeys and facial recognition for account access.
Passkeys are password-less and use biometrics such as fingerprints or facial scans to access an account.
They are seen as more secure and stronger than passwords as they are not susceptible to phishing (a cybercrime where criminals impersonate others to trick victims into giving up personal data such as passwords).
Microsoft recently did away with password management features on their authenticator application and have made it to where users can no longer access stored passwords.
The company is now having users use passkeys instead, an effort that started this past August.
This kind of move is what companies are hoping will become permanent and help untangle the mess of keeping track of multiple passwords.
WBZ NewsRadio’s Jim MacKay (@JimMacKayOnAir) reports.