Passkeys, explained

What is a passkey?

A passkey is a way to sign in without a password. When you create one, your device makes a pair of keys. The website keeps the public key; the private key stays with you, in your password manager or on your device. To sign in, your device proves it has the private key by signing a challenge from the website, after you unlock it with your fingerprint, face, PIN or master password.

Why passkeys are safer

• Nothing to phish. A passkey only works on the website it was made for, so a look-alike page cannot use it.
• Nothing to reuse. Every website gets its own key pair.
• Nothing to leak. The website stores only a public key, which is useless to anyone who steals it.

Passkeys in KeyCare Pass

When a website offers to create a passkey, the KeyCare Pass extension asks where to save it: in a login you already have or as a new one. The next time you sign in, choose the website's passkey option and confirm in KeyCare Pass. Because your passkeys live in your encrypted vault, they work wherever you use the extension.

You can also sign in to KeyCare Pass itself with a passkey. More about passkeys in KeyCare Pass.

How to start

1. Install the KeyCare Pass extension and sign in.
2. Open the security settings of an account that supports passkeys, and choose to add one.
3. Save it in KeyCare Pass when asked.
4. Keep your password for now, as a fallback, until you are comfortable.

Common questions

What if I lose my phone?

Passkeys saved in KeyCare Pass are in your vault, not on one device, so signing in to KeyCare Pass on a new computer brings them back.

Can I export my passkeys?

Yes, in KeyCare Pass's .json export. The .csv format cannot hold them.