Passkey
WhatsApp now recognizes you by your face – even on a new smartphone
Passkeys replace passwords – now also on Whatsapp
© Whatsapp/RollingCamera / Getty Images
Changing your smartphone can be complicated. With WhatsApp, one of the most annoying steps is no longer necessary for iPhone users: the app recognizes you by itself.
The company, which belongs to Facebook parent company Meta, announced this this morning. Passkeys are not an invention of WhatsApp, but a standard supported by major tech companies such as Google, Apple and Microsoft. The declared goal: to abolish the password.
Passkey instead of password
Because even though you don’t notice this in everyday life, we also have a user name and password on WhatsApp. The username is the phone number and the password is generated from it in the background. The SMS that we request from WhatsApp is actually two-factor authentication. With Passkey, this is no longer necessary, as is the password.
Instead, the registration on a new device is now handled completely in the background: WhatsApp asks the device which passkey user has this device, then you confirm once with the standard registration set in the device – such as facial recognition, fingerprint or pin – and that’s it you are logged back into the correct Whatsapp account.
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How to use Passkys for Whatsapp
The switch to passkeys only needs to be set up once at the beginning. The option can be found in the Whatsapp settings under “Account” and “Passkey”. Once activated, you can always log in without a phone number from then on, as long as you don’t change the operating system.
If you can’t find the function yet, just be patient: The option will be rolled out for the iPhone version of Whatsapp “in the next few weeks” according to the announcement, and it has already been available for Android smartphones for a few months.
Passkeys are generally seen as the future of passwords. The advantage is obvious: instead of having to think up and remember your own access data for all accounts, you can log in securely anywhere. Another advantage: In contrast to classic access data, passkeys cannot be easily stolen. So they are even more secure than the previous log-in measures.
Does Passkey solve accidental account sharing?
With passkeys, one of the most bizarre mistakes in Whatsapp could finally come to an end: If you swap your cell phone number and don’t export your account to the new number, it may be taken over by other people. The simple reason: If the mobile phone provider releases old numbers again, this will of course be the user name again for the successors on Whatsapp – and they will have access to non-exported accounts.
The company was unable to determine whether WhatsApp would actually completely abandon phone numbers with passkeys until it was published star not confirmed yet.
Source: Whatsapp