Amazon Joins Google, Apple in Ditching Passwords

Amazon is introducing a way to log into its site without passwords. The retail giant announced on Monday that it supports passkeys, a more recent and more secure way to log in, for all Amazon customers using browsers.  

With passkeys, Amazon shoppers can now use FaceID, a fingerprint scan or even a number-based PIN to sign into the site, replicating the way they would unlock their phones. To make the swap, navigate to Your Account, Login & Security and finally Passkeys. Once a passkey is on a user’s account, they can sign in with it instead of a password. 

Passkeys are more secure than passwords and even one-time codes sent via text message, Amazon stated. It’s because they’re phishing-resistant. Passkeys prove that customers can physically unlock their devices, and rely on them having a specific device in hand. 

On the user side, passkeys circumvent the obstacle course of managing passwords. Instead of requiring users to remember and type in the right combination of hard-to-guess characters (and change those characters every three months), passkeys tap into data that the user may literally have on hand, like their fingerprint. 

“While passwords will still be around in the foreseeable future, this is an exciting step in the right direction,” Dave Treadwell, senior vice president of e-commerce at Amazon, said. 

Google made passkeys its default sign-in option earlier this month, unearthing it from its harder-to-find position deep in settings. Apple, Microsoft and even gaming companies like Nintendo now use passkeys.

For those concerned about privacy, passkeys don't send companies your biometric data, or even your PIN. Instead, a passkey consists of a code kept on company servers that must be matched with a code kept on your device. Once you enter your PIN or pass a biometric scan, the codes join together to give you access to the website.

Amazon plans to expand passkeys to its iOS and Android apps soon.