Microsoft will soon significantly improve passkey support in Windows 11. With a redesigned Windows Hello experience, you can choose how you store your passkeys and even sync them to your Microsoft account or store them with 1Password, Bitwarden, or other passkey providers.
A new API for third-party password and passkey managers means developers can integrate directly into the Windows 11 experience, allowing you to use the same passkey from your mobile device to authenticate on your PC. It's currently possible in some apps to do this via QR codes and other means of authentication from a mobile device, but full support from Microsoft means the Passkeys experience on Windows will be significantly better.
Microsoft is also redesigning the Windows Hello prompt, including the ability to set up passkeys to sync with your Microsoft account or store them elsewhere. Once you've completed a one-time setup process, you can authenticate on multiple Windows 11 devices using facial recognition, fingerprint, or PIN with a passkey.
Windows Insiders will first get access to these new passkey features “in the coming months,” meaning it will be a while before all Windows 11 users see this new passkey experience. Microsoft plans to share more details about its improved passkeys support during its Windows security sessions at the Authenticate 2024 conference next week.