Amazon Joins The Passkey Hype Train: Here's How To Set One Up

In the endless hunt for tighter, more reliable security measures, online businesses have been entering the passkey scene. Passkeys, unlike traditional alphanumeric passwords, are based on information that is either impossible or difficult to replicate, such as face IDs and thumbprints. Out of all the online businesses you could want staunch security for, your Amazon account probably ranks fairly high due to its association with your financial records and shopping habits. It's for this reason and more that Amazon has gotten on the passkey train.

In an announcement posted to the company's official press blog, Amazon says it has begun rolling out passkey support on desktop internet browsers and mobile shopping apps, providing an extra layer of security for all interested Amazon customers. Using passkeys, users can quickly sign into their Amazon accounts on any device without remembering passwords and without worrying about vital information being stolen by phishing attacks.

"While passwords will still be around in the foreseeable future, this is an exciting step in the right direction," Dave Treadwell, Amazon's senior vice president of e-commerce, said in the announcement. "We are thrilled to be an early adopter of this new authentication method, helping to realize our vision for a more secure, passwordless internet."

In its passkey announcement, Amazon has provided some quick instructions for users who want to activate the feature. Currently, this process can be performed on a desktop internet browser or the iOS Amazon app, with Android support to come later.

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1. Open the Amazon website on your desktop or the Amazon app on mobile.

2. Select Your Account.

3. Select Login & Security.

4. In the Passkeys section, select Set Up.

5. Follow the instructions to set up a new passkey for your account.

Once you've set up a passkey, you can use it to sign into your Amazon account on any supported device or browser. As the update has only just started rolling out, the feature may not be available on all platforms at the time of writing but should gradually appear over the next several days. In the case of the mobile version, users are encouraged to verify that they are running the most recent version of the Amazon app, as the newest update includes the passkey feature.

For those who prefer traditional passwords, passkeys are not required to continue using Amazon services.