Microsoft is officially eliminating the saved passwords in its authenticator application. As of August 2025, the application will no longer admit the storage of automatic or password approach. Instead, users will need to replace passwords saved with Passkeys, a new session login method that is linked to their biometric device and ID.
It is the last movement in Microsoft’s continuous thrust to leave passwords behind. Last year, the technological giant according to reports detected 7,000 password attacks per second. With the increasing cyber attacks and the credentials of users at risk, Microsoft considers that passkeeys are fundamental for a safer future.
But what are Passkeys and why are they safer than passwords? And how long has Microsoft Authenticator forget your passwords forever? We have broken down everything you need to know here.
What is Microsoft Authenticator?
Microsoft Authenticator is a free mobile application for Android and iOS devices. It helps you log in in your accounts more safely. Originally designed as an authentication tool of two factors (2FA) for Microsoft accounts, then it expanded to include the support to save and put in the form of automatic approach passwords.
Users could use authenticator to store session, synchronize them on devices and automatically automatically their credentials on websites and applications. Once the passwords were kept to the authenticator, you can verify signatories with their fingerprint, facial recognition or a pin.
That is now changing. Microsoft is authenticator sun password support, changing to a newer and safest login method: Passkeys.
When will Microsoft Authenticator passwords work?
Microsoft has already begun on authenticator password support. Its timeline to eliminate the removal of saved passwords is as follows:
- June 2025: You can no longer add new passwords to the Authenticator application.
- Since July 2025: Autofill functionally for saved passwords will be disabled, which means that the application will not complete automatic login details.
- Since August 2025: All saved passwords will be permanently eliminated from the Microsoft authenticator.
According to a notification in the application, you can export saved passwords “until self -commission is over.” You can do it by addressing the configuration menu and selecting ‘Export passwords’. Exported passwords can be imported to another automatic approach provider, including your Google account or your ICLOUD keychain.
Alternatively, Edge can be enabled as his automatic approach provider. From that same notification, simply touch ‘light the edge’. Because saving passwords are synchronized with their Microsoft account, Edge will have access to their login credentials, including Autocomofill’s functionality.
What are passing passes?
Passkeys is an alternative way to log in to your account. Instead of trusting a word or phrase that you need to remember or save, Keys use biometry or a pin to verify your identity.
Passkeeys is a credential developed by Fast Identity Online Alliance (FIDO). They use an open authentication protocol that is designed to replace passwords completely.
When you create a passkey key, your device stores a private key. To log in, simply unlock your device with facial recognition, your fingerprint or a pin number. That public key coincides verifies its identity online against the private key.
Why are Keys safer than passwords?
Passwords have long been the weakest online safety link. Since the advent of passwords, people have been using weak and easily guess phrases to help them remember their own login credentials. Many people also have the habit of reusing the same similar passwords or variants in different accounts.
That tactic leaves users particularly vulnerable if a data violation exposes their password. Passwords also expose people to the risk of phishing scams, a growing number of which aims to steal their credentials.
Passkeys solves all these problems. Unlike passwords, they are not written, sent or stored on a server. Passkeys stay on their own device. That means there is nothing for cybercounts to intercept.
In addition, because they are linked to both their device and their identity, they are a much stronger form of authentication than a standard password. They cannot be stolen or cracked as a password, even with brute force conjectures.
Passkeys also have the additional benefit of being easier to use. Microsoft acknowledges that Passkey’s signatories have a 98% success rate, compared to only 32% for passwords.
Because Passkeys is linked to devices, some users will be worried about losing their smartphone. However, many people already have and use multiple devices ready for Passkey, including laptops and laptops with biometric support. Even if you lose access to a device, others can be used as a backup.
Microsoft is not just to press for the use of Passkey. Google, Apple and Amazon, among others, are also adopting Passkeeys. The Fido Alliance says that more than 15 billion accounts now support Passkey signatories. Microsoft has reported that it sees’ almost a million visits registered every day.
How to configure a Passey key in Microsoft Authenticator
For existing authenticator applications users, starting with Passkeys is simple. Simply open the Authenticator application, choose your account on the configuration menu and select ‘Set a Passkey key’. You will be asked to log in with the credentials of your account, before the rest of the configuration process approaches.
If Authenticator is configuring for the first time, the application can ask you to allow the authenticator as a source for Keeys in the device’s password configuration menu. Do this, press, continue and be ready to use Passkeys.
You can also configure passkeys through your Microsoft account online. Log in your Microsoft account, then look for ‘advanced security options’. Select ‘Add a new way to log in or verify’, followed by ‘face, digital footprint, pin or security key’.
According to an article published by Microsoft, “it will automatically detect the best method available in your account and establish it as the default value.” That means that even where you have a password and a passkey configuration for your account, you will always ask your Key Passkey first.
Microsoft’s new accounts will use default passkeys. The login process has also been redesigned and simplified to prioritize session late -password.
