🔐 Passwords vs. Passkeys: What’s Changing and Why You Should Care

Frank Bravo 0:00
Have you ever tried resetting your forgotten password while waiting in line in the airport? You type it wrong, then you try it again, and suddenly your entire digital life feels like it's hanging by a thread. Now imagine if you could skip all that and log in with just your fingerprint or your face. No passwords to remember, no passwords to type. No mental gymnastics required. That's the idea behind Passkeys. And if you haven't already, you're going to start seeing them everywhere. Today I'm going to break down why on your tech makeover.

Guest 0:37
Welcome to your Tech Makeover, the podcast that gives you tips and tricks to help you simplify and get more out of the technology in your life. I'm your host, Frank Bravo.

Frank Bravo 0:45
Today's topic is passwords versus passkeys. What's changing and why you should care. You're probably thinking of yourself, man. Frank's talking about passwords again. I can't believe it. Do I really need to listen to this episode? Well, while I've talked about digital security before, and if you've listened to this podcast, you're right. I have talked a lot about passwords, so you know my feelings about them. And while I'm not sold on the idea of passkeys, I think it's important to understand them, what they are and how they work, because you'll be seeing a lot of them on a lot of different sites very soon. So let's start and blame basic English. What is a passkey? A key is a way to sign in that doesn't require you to type a password. Instead, your device like your phone or your tablet or your computer, or maybe even your watch becomes the key. When you log into a website or an app, you simply confirm with your face ID, your touch ID, or a Pin and that's it. An easy analogy to something that you use almost every day is your digital key fob for your car. You don't stick it into anything for your engine anymore. The car just knows that you're there. A passkey kind of works the same way. Your device holds a secret and the website holds the key. And when the two of them line up, you are approved. And then you're in. There's no typing, no remembering, no reusing the same password. Every three sites, which I know none of you actually do, right? So why are Passkeys out there? They are basically safer and easier. And this is where they are really appealing. Passwords are, well, passwords. They tend to be reused by people. They get stolen. And a lot of times they get tricked out of people by phishing emails. And when you forget them. The reset process sometimes is even more annoying. Passkey solves almost all of these items. There's nothing to type. If you can't type it, you can't accidentally share it with a fake website. There's nothing that isn't unique about it. It's unique by design. Everything that the sites get is unique, and it's their own pairs. And there's there's no reuse problem. It's fast. Fingerprints and face scans are pretty fast. And then you're in and your passkey syncs across your devices. If you use Apple, Google or Microsoft, your passkeys follow you when you sign in on new devices. Third party password managers have also gotten into the game and have started to build on this, and that also helps keep them synced across devices too. And look, I haven't actually switched myself yet, and I like the idea, but I'm cautious. So I think that this guy is a good guy to understand what's coming and not to push you to change your life every day. And for me, recording this episode has taught me more about Passkeys. So I might be a little bit more anxious to go start using them. A quick shout out to listeners like you who helped make your technique over possible. Your support helped keep this podcast going and I truly appreciate it. Want to contribute? Just click the link in the show notes or visit your tech make overcome. Plus, as a thank you, supporters who give $25 or more will get $25 off a one time consultation with me to help you simplify your tech. Thanks for being part of the Your Tech Makeover community. So now back to what I was saying. If you haven't already, you're going to start seeing Passkeys everywhere in 2026. Apple, Google, Microsoft they're all in. Many banks offer passkeys shopping websites, travel apps, and even some streaming services have now started saying create a passkey when you sign in. Like I said before, even the password managers are on board. Most of them now store and sync passkeys the same way that they do your password. But don't worry, your passwords are not going to disappear tomorrow. We're in a transition period and that's a good thing. It means that you can switch over gradually. So here's a light tech explanation of how this works. Nothing. You need to memorize just enough to make it click Passkeys. Use something called a public private key cryptology. That sounds super complicated, but the idea is pretty simple. And I mentioned this in passing before. Your device creates two keys. When you go to log in, there's a public key that gets stored on the website, and a private key that stays on your device. When you log in, the website sends a challenge to your device. Your device solves it by using your private key, but it only after it confirms that your you. It's only after it confirms that you are who you say you are by verifying your face. Maybe your fingerprint or a pin to unlock that key. The website checks the answer using that public key. And if everything lines up, it will let you in. So how do you actually get started using this? This is the part that people worry about the most. But the good news is the setups already done for you. If you're an Apple user, make sure that the iCloud keychain is turned on when you use. When you see the Create Pass key, tap continue face ID or touch ID scans it and that's it. Your passkey syncs with your other devices automatically on an Android or Chrome device. You probably are signed into your Google account already. Google Password Manager handles these passkeys for you. Approve with your biometrics or a Pin when it prompts you and then you're in. If you're on windows, you'll have to go in and turn on Windows Hello with either face recognition, fingerprint or Pin. If you use Edge or Chrome, both of those support Passkeys native. And if you're using a password manager, great, because most of them now store the passkeys to making cross-platform use even easier. And just so you know what this looks like in real life. When you create an account with a passkey compatible site, you should see a quote. Do you want to use a passkey message? Then you tap yes, approve with your face ID or touch ID and you're done. That's the whole process. Since I've said that passkey, stay securely on your device. How does it work with cloud syncing to other devices? That's a great question, and one that I had to look up myself because that was something I was concerned about. If you use a cloud sinking like iCloud or Google Password Manager, it only moves an encrypted protected form of the keys across the the devices. Not even the companies can read those keys. The keys are never shared with the website, and they never are sent over the internet in a way that can be stolen. That's why passkeys are so hard to steal. Now I can hear you saying what happens to my existing passwords? Here's the cool thing. They stay right where they are for now. Not every site supports Passkeys, and that's okay. A smart move is to convert maybe your most used accounts first. That might be your email account, maybe a financial account, your cloud storage, or even shopping and travel apps that you use all the time. Going forward, once you're comfortable, you'll be able to dive right in. And if the site offers a site key, you can add it. Some sites will let you delete your old passwords once the password. Once the passkey is in place, others keep the passwords as backup. Just follow the prompts. They'll walk you through it. Personally, I would tell you that I'm going to keep my passwords as a backup as long as I can so that I know I can always log in. So what you really need to know before you switch? Let's talk about a few things that people usually worry about in this in this switching period. So first off, well, what if you lose your phone. This is a big fear right? But a passkey isn't tied to your single device. If it's set up properly, they're tied to your account. So if you're using Apple, Google, Microsoft or any of those other services that sync the Passkeys, signing on to a new phone automatically brings your passkey with you. And what about backing up your device? Well, that's a good tip if you listen to the last episode that I did, it was talking about backing up your device. If you have a tablet or a laptop, make sure you can unlock with your biometrics or Pin. That way you're never locked out while you're waiting for a replacement. What if you are traveling though? Passkeys don't need to a cell service to identify you. That's what's so cool. They just need your device to unlock it. You still need the internet to reach the website, but it can offer itself locally. And what about shared accounts? I mean, a lot of people are using shared accounts. Probably not for streaming services or anything, but some streaming services and some services that support Passkeys. Support shared Passkeys now and even more will come in 2026. For the rest, you'll probably need to keep that shared password. There's another spot where a password manager might come in handy as well. And what about cross-platform usage? Apple to Android Android. Windows? Yeah, passkeys work across all the ecosystems. Sometimes you scan a QR code. Sometimes it uses Bluetooth. But any way you slice it, it's surprisingly smooth. So you've heard me talk about single sign on as part of this podcast. Well, what's the difference between that and Passkeys? How is it different and what is the important distinction? Well, single sign on to remind you. Or so as you might see it written is a when you click the single sign on with Google or sign on with Apple. It's super convenient, but it still relies on a password under the hood. And if someone gets access to your main account, they get access to everything. Passkeys, though, are different. You don't have a single master key. Each website gets its own unique key pair, and it's private and it never leaves your device. The private key, I should say, never leaves your device and there is no password to steal. So a good way to think about this is. So is like having a master key that opens multiple doors. Passkeys are like giving every door its own smart lock, and your phone or computer becomes the key that opens the door when you approve it. So yeah. So providers are great. And a lot of them like Apple and Google are now supporting Passkeys too. So you can see that the systems work together. Let's wrap it up with the next steps that you're going to take. If you're interested in actually using passkey. First turn on your iCloud keychain or your Google password manager, depending on which device you have. Add backup password devices just so that you are sure that you have access. When you're ready to say yes the next time the site asks you to create a pass key, go ahead and try it. Maybe update your five important accounts first, or if you just want to dip your toes in. Pick at least a few unimportant accounts just to see how they work. And then keep your password manager active for older sites and absolutely keep your two factor authentication turned on. Passkeys are a major step forward in digital security and digital sanity. They're safer and simpler, and you have an endless cycle of forgotten passwords and resets to have go away. You don't have to switch everything today, but I've read by the end of 2026, most of us will be using Passkeys without even thinking about it. So are you ready to try your first passkey on your account? Have you maybe already made the switch? Let me know. And as always, if you have ideas for topics you'd like me to cover, please feel free to contact me via email at Frank at your Tech makeover.com. That's it for now. Thanks for listening to your tech makeover. If you haven't done or so already, don't forget to subscribe to this podcast in your favorite podcast platform so that you don't miss an episode. And you can always check out your Tech makeover.com where you can see more information about each of the episodes, including this one. If you're on Substack, don't forget to subscribe there for some extra content. And if you want to find out more about me, you can always visit Bravo! It's dot com. Until next time, I'm Frank Bravo. In this has been your tech makeover.