Passkeys are now widely considered to be the most important standard when it comes to protecting your accounts from hackers.
But one in four major apps and services on the internet, including Instagram, Netflix, and Spotify, still don't offer these services. These statistics come from a new website that names and shames companies that don't already give users the option of using a passkey to log into their apps and services.
Passkeys are more secure than passwords because they are generated by your device and are tied to your phone or computer and the website you created it for. Biometric authentication options include Face ID, Touch ID, and physical security keys. And it can be automatically saved to someone's password manager. An important advantage of passkeys is that, unlike passwords, users do not have to remember anything, and they are much harder to steal or phish by hackers unless they have physical control of the target device.
Scott Helme, a longtime security researcher who created the website Whynopasskeys.com, wrote in a blog post that the motivation behind the site was to enable businesses and give users the opportunity to adopt passkeys. “Lists are amazingly effective motivators. No one wants to be on a list,” Helme writes.
Big companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft are on the good side of the list and provide passkeys to their users.
It's important to note that users can only enable passkeys on Instagram if their account is associated with a Facebook account that has passkeys enabled.
Meta did not immediately respond to TechCrunch's request for comment on why some products, such as Facebook and WhatsApp, offer passkeys while Instagram does not. TechCrunch also reached out to Netflix and Spotify. This article will be updated if these companies provide comments.