The iOS update is coming a few months after Android, where WhatsApp brought passkey support in October 2023.
You’ll no longer need to type in your password the next time you log into your WhatsApp account on iPhone. The Meta-owned instant messaging platform is adding support for “passkeys” to its iOS app which would allow users to log into their account using the preferred medium they’d use generally to log into their iPhones such as fingerprint or face or PIN. The iOS update is coming a few months after Android, where WhatsApp brought passkey support in October 2023.
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Created by FIDO alliance and the World Wide Web Consortium, passkeys aim to allow apps and websites to have a single, secure, and unified login across devices and platforms. Passwords are more susceptible to security breaches including phishing and data leaks. The chances of being hacked are even bigger when the same password is used more than once, which is more commonplace than you’d think. Even 2-Step Verification (2SV) is prone to phishing and targeted attacks like SIM swaps. Passkeys are billed as both a more convenient and safer alternative to passwords — at least in theory.
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The idea behind passkeys is that users will make use of the same action — fingerprint or face, or a PIN — that they use multiple times each day to, also, log into apps and websites. Since this data resides locally on their device, it is less likely to be hacked and misused. You can choose to set up individual passkeys for multiple devices or use the same “secret code” across devices, from Apple for instance with iCloud backup enabled. You can also use an existing passkey from another device to sign into a new device temporarily.
Another benefit is that you don’t need to be online or connected to use them, since passkeys can work without the SMS code.
“Passkeys are rolling out now on iOS, a more secure (and easier!) way to log back in with Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode,” WhatsApp posted on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, adding that “it’s a more secure way to login and lets us know it’s really you.”
Enrolling for passkeys is a fairly straightforward process. Just go into your WhatsApp settings > account > passkeys to add and authenticate.
