PayPal also introduces the convenience feature in Germany

PayPal is now also introducing the Passkey process in Germany. (Image source: rarrarorro – stock.adobe.com)

A password-free Internet: This project sounds strange at first, but it is actually the proclaimed goal of the so-called FIDO-Allianz.

The cooperation between several well-known tech companies such as Google, Apple and Microsoft, which first appeared more than ten years ago, is working on completely eliminating passwords, which are seen as potential security gaps.

Apple already introduced the so-called passkeys for iOS 16 last year; Google has also been working with the new method since May 2023.

With the online payment service PayPal, the next tech giant will soon start with the Passkey-Technologie.

The feature was officially announced in October 2022, but at that time it was only available in the US.

PayPal will expand the Passkey option in the coming weeks eligible customers on Apple devices and Google Android devices in Germany. The company explained this in a press release.

With this introduction, PayPal promises, as with Apple and Google before, a quick and secure login in the respective account.

How to create PayPal passkey on iOS and Android

With Apple devices, the creation of the passkey – as soon as it has been activated – should be displayed when the PayPal website is called up via the Safari browser for the first time.

If the customers have then logged in for the last time with the classic user name and associated password, identification is carried out using Touch ID or Face ID.

If this is done, the passkey has been created successfully. In addition, these are synchronized in the iCloud keychain so that they are always accessible in Apple devices from iOS 16, iPadOS 16.1 or macOS Ventura.

For Android devices, however, at least operating system version 9 is required.

Here, too, a classic PayPal registration via the Chrome browser is required, which is then followed by the button Create Passkey indicates.

The user is then prompted to identify himself in the same way as the respective device is unlocked – i.e. either by PIN, fingerprint or face recognition. The respective passkey should then be created in Android and can be used for logging in in the future.

Passkeys – what are they anyway?

Passkeys are a new standard that is being gradually introduced by the FIDO Alliance mentioned at the beginning.

These replace the classic passwords with cryptographic key pairs and digital credentials. This includes, for example, biometric login data, such as those already created to unlock smartphones.

The advantages are apparent: In addition to the elimination of passwords, which can quickly be forgotten in the case of high complexity, such biometric data is particularly protected against any phishing attempts and other attacks.

Are passkeys the future of IT security? Will you switch to the new login option as soon as possible or stick with the classic password? Do you use a password manager and if so, which one? Let us know what you think in the comments!