How to set up passkeys for your Google and Microsoft accounts

A passkey lets you sign in with your fingerprint, face or device PIN instead of a password, and Google and Microsoft both support them for personal accounts. For Google, go to myaccount.google.com/signinoptions/passkeys and select Create a passkey. For a Microsoft account, go to account.live.com/proofs/manage, select Add a new way to sign in or verify, then Face, Fingerprint, PIN, or Security Key. Do it on your own phone or computer, not a shared one, and keep your password and recovery options in place for now. On an iPhone or Mac, your passkeys are stored in iCloud Keychain.

What a passkey changes

With a password, anyone who learns it can try to sign in. With a passkey, signing in needs your device, unlocked by your fingerprint, face or screen lock. Google says passkeys can’t be shared, copied or written down.

For a small business, start with the accounts that unlock everything else: your email, then anything holding money or client data.

Set up a passkey for your Google account

1. On your own phone or computer, go to myaccount.google.com/signinoptions/passkeys.
2. Select Create a passkey.
3. Unlock your device when asked, using your fingerprint, face or screen lock.

On an iPhone, iPad or Mac, Google says to turn on iCloud Keychain first, so the passkey is saved and available on your other Apple devices.

To use a physical security key instead, choose Use another device and follow the prompts. Google says the key must support FIDO2.

Set up a passkey for your Microsoft account

1. On the device where you want the passkey, go to account.live.com/proofs/manage and sign in.
2. Select Add a new way to sign in or verify.
3. Select Face, Fingerprint, PIN, or Security Key.
4. Follow the prompts. Select Continue or Create to save the passkey in the suggested place, or Change to choose another.
5. Unlock with your face, fingerprint or PIN to finish.

Microsoft lets you save the passkey on your Windows PC with Windows Hello, on your phone by scanning a QR code, on a security key, or in a password manager that syncs, such as Google Password Manager or iCloud Keychain.

Sign in on a computer that isn’t yours

If your passkey is on your phone, you can still sign in on a different computer. For Google, enter your email address, select Try another way, then Use your passkey. Scan the QR code with your phone, make sure Bluetooth is on, and confirm on your phone.

Apple describes the same approach on a Mac: choose the option to use a passkey from a nearby device and scan the code with your iPhone. Apple says Bluetooth must be on for both the Mac and the iPhone.

Keep a way back in

A passkey lives on your devices, so plan for losing one:

• Keep your recovery phone and email up to date on both accounts.
• Save the passkey somewhere that syncs, such as iCloud Keychain or Google Password Manager, so a lost phone doesn’t take your only copy with it.
• If a device is lost or stolen, sign in from another device and remove its passkey. In your Google Account, go to Security & sign-in, then Passkeys and security keys, select the passkey and remove it.

Passwords still work, unless you turn them off

Google says creating a passkey switches your account to passkey-first sign-in, through a setting called Skip password when possible. If you’d rather be asked for your password, turn that setting off under How you sign in to Google in Security & sign-in.

If you already use two-step verification, Google says a passkey can also act as the second step. Our guide to turning on two-step verification for Google and Microsoft accounts covers that setup.

If it doesn’t work

• You’re not offered a passkey: check your device and browser are recent enough. Google lists Chrome 109, Safari 16, Edge 109 or Firefox 122 and up.
• The QR code sign-in fails: check Bluetooth is turned on. Apple says it’s needed on both devices.
• Windows Hello isn’t offered for your Microsoft account: Microsoft says that option may not appear if you already saved a passkey to a synced password manager.
• Google still asks for a passkey you removed: check whether it’s also saved in another password manager you use.

If you’re setting up passkeys because of a breach warning, our guide to checking whether your email was in a data breach explains what else to change.

If you use Microsoft Authenticator on Android, its backup is moving to Google One in January 2027, so check your backup settings before then.

Sources

• Google: Sign in with a passkey instead of a password
• Microsoft: Create and save a passkey
• Apple: Sign in to an account on your Mac with a passkey

Last checked: October 18, 2026. Google, Microsoft and Apple update their sign-in options regularly. If something here no longer matches what you see, let us know.