Meta announces passkeys for Facebook

Meta wants to introduce Passkeys as a new login method for the Facebook app. The function will initially be rolled out for iOS and Android devices in the Facebook app. The introduction is planned for Messenger in the coming months, as the company announced.

Passkeys allow users to log in without a password by using their device's fingerprint, facial recognition or PIN instead. "Passkeys are a new method of identity verification and login that is simpler and more secure than traditional passwords," Meta explained in its announcement.

Interestingly, Facebook itself is a latecomer within the Meta group. WhatsApp, which also belongs to Meta, has supported passkeys on Android since October 2023 and on iOS since April 2024. The function was gradually activated for users at the time and has since enabled biometric login in the messenger app.

With this implementation, Meta is following numerous other services that already support passkeys. Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, PayPal, eBay, Shopify and many other providers have integrated the technology into their platforms over the past two years. Facebook is therefore one of the last major platforms to introduce Passkeys.

Resistant to phishing

Meta expects the technology, which is based on the FIDO2 standard, to have several advantages: it is resistant to phishing attacks, passwords cannot be guessed and it simplifies the login process. As soon as passkey support is available for Messenger, the same passkey that users set up for Facebook can also be used for Facebook Messenger.

This is to be set up via the account overview in the Facebook settings. Alternatively, users can also be prompted to set up a passkey when logging in. Meta emphasizes that the biometric data used to unlock the Passkeys will remain exclusively on the user's device and will not be shared with the company.

In addition to logging in, Meta is planning further areas of application for passkeys. In the future, users will also be able to use their passkeys to securely fill in payment information when making purchases with Meta Pay and later also to protect encrypted message backups. The use of passkeys for encrypted backups is currently still in the test phase at WhatsApp and is not yet generally available.

Passkeys were developed by the FIDO Alliance, which is committed to reducing dependence on passwords. Despite the increasing adoption of passkeys, challenges such as platform dependency and the inability to export passkeys between different ecosystems remain. With the Credential Exchange Protocol (CXP) and the Credential Exchange Format (CXF), the FIDO Alliance is working on a solution that will enable the secure import and export of passkeys between different services and platforms. However, an exact date for broad availability has not yet been set.

(mack)