If you’ve followed security news recently, you’ve probably seen headlines declaring that passwords are dead and passwordless authentication is the future. The enthusiasm is hard to miss—plenty of articles paint a picture of a frictionless, more secure digital world without passwords. Still, before assuming passwords are truly obsolete, it’s worth taking a closer look at how passwordless authentication actually works and what challenges come with it. Right now, the passwordless future feels a bit like there are too many cooks in the kitchen —everyone has their own recipe, and it’s creating more chaos than clarity.
What Are Passkeys?
Passkeys are essentially public/private key pairs used for authentication. When you create a passkey on a website, your device generates these keys: the public key gets stored on the site, while the private key remains securely on your device. When you log in, the site sends a challenge that your device signs with the private key, proving your identity without needing a password.
Where Is the Private Key Stored in Passwordless Authentication?
One of the main sources of confusion with passkeys is that their storage isn’t standardized across platforms. Where and how a passkey is stored can vary significantly depending on the device, operating system, and browser—and that inconsistency creates a fractured user experience.
For instance, on iOS devices, passkeys are stored in iCloud Keychain and can sync across Apple products. Android devices using Chrome save passkeys to Google Password Manager, which also supports syncing. However, Windows 10 users creating passkeys in Chrome rely on Windows Hello—and those passkeys are device-bound with no syncing. If you lose that Windows machine or reinstall the OS, your passkeys are lost.
It gets even more complicated on macOS: Chrome stored passkeys locally until Chrome version 118 and macOS 13.5, after which newly created passkeys began syncing to iCloud Keychain. Yet older passkeys created before the update didn’t migrate.
In short: depending on what platform you started with, what version you’re on, and which browser you used, your passkey experience can look very different—and not all ecosystems play nicely together. For users trying to navigate this evolving, it’s anything but seamless.
Can I Use a Phone Passkey to Log In on a Desktop?
Yes, passkeys support Hybrid Transport, allowing authentication across devices. Using QR codes or Bluetooth, a mobile-stored passkey can verify a session on a nearby desktop. It works well when implemented correctly, but it adds another layer of complexity for users unfamiliar with the process.
Passkeys vs. Password Manager
A properly used password manager already provides strong security through unique, complex passwords for each site. Passkeys offer some added benefits:
- They are inherently unique per site.
- The private key is never transmitted, reducing risks from phishing and credential theft.
- A phishing site like “google-com-io.tld” might trick a password manager, but a passkey won’t expose any reusable credentials.
For those already managing passwords securely, passkeys feel like an incremental improvement rather than a game-changer.
How Can Enterprises Implement Passkeys Securely?
Most passkey adoption so far has targeted consumers logging into cloud services, but enterprise IT departments need to be proactive about their implications. Device-bound passkeys create potential access issues if an employee loses a work laptop. Hardware security keys like Yubico’s USB devices offer a more portable solution, allowing passkeys to persist through device upgrades or resets.
Final Thoughts
Passkeys are a promising evolution in authentication, and they’re relatively easy to implement. But before jumping in, it’s important to understand where and how they’re stored to avoid usability frustrations. Right now, the passwordless future feels a bit like a kitchen with too many cooks—everyone has their own approach, but a truly seamless experience is still a work in progress.
Looking to implement passwordless authentication in your organization? Synergy Information Solutions specializes in secure, scalable technology solutions for the gaming industry. Contact us today to learn how we can help simplify and secure your authentication strategy.
