{"id":104467,"date":"2025-07-30T09:40:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T09:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/104467\/"},"modified":"2025-07-30T09:40:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T09:40:12","slug":"microsoft-authenticator-is-ending-password-autofill-soon-how-to-set-up-a-passkey-before-aug-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/104467\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft Authenticator is ending password autofill soon. How to set up a passkey before Aug. 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 If you\u2019re a Microsoft Authenticator user, like me, you\u2019ve probably received at least one notice that the app\u2019s password management features are no longer usable and that your stored passwords will be inaccessible starting Aug. 1 unless you have the Edge browser. <\/p>\n

Why? Because Microsoft is moving its signature sign-in app to a digital authentication method touted by security experts as an easier and more secure way to log in: passkeys<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year (2024), we observed a staggering 7,000 password attacks per second (more than double the rate from 2023),\u201d Microsoft wrote in a blog post<\/a>. \u201cAlthough passwords have been around for centuries, we hope their reign over our online world is ending.\u201d<\/p>\n

Authenticator has been a staple in providing multi-factor authentication, one-time passwords and biometric logins for services and some websites. Although the app will continue to provide authentication for passkey-compatible services, it is pushing its password management and autofill functions out to the company\u2019s Edge browser instead.<\/p>\n

Note that not all websites and applications have adopted passkeys yet, so many places still rely on passwords.<\/p>\n

If you haven\u2019t yet moved to a different password manager system or set up your passkeys, we\u2019re here to help.<\/p>\n

How to generate a passkey in Authenticator<\/p>\n

Passkeys do away with complex 14 character passwords because you never need to see them. Instead you are using existing biometrics like your face or fingerprints, digital patterns or PINs to access your accounts.<\/p>\n

Passkeys are made up of two parts of a code that only makes sense when they\u2019re combined, kind of like a digital key and padlock. You keep half of the encrypted code, typically stored either in the cloud with a compatible verification app \u2014 including Authenticator \u2014 or on a physical security dongle. The other half is stored on the participating apps, services or accounts you want to access.<\/p>\n

The bad news? You do have to set up individual passkeys for each service or application that accepts them. Keeping track of where you can use them versus traditional passwords can be challenging.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve opened Authenticator in the last few months, you likely were prompted to set up a passkey through a guided experience. <\/p>\n

If you didn\u2019t receive such a prompt, you can set up a new passkey by opening the authenticator app on your device. Find and tap on your account, then select \u201cset up a passkey\u201d option. Follow the app\u2019s instructions.<\/p>\n

Accessing old passwords in Edge<\/p>\n

The good news is that all of your old passwords are synced to your Microsoft account. But to access them after Aug. 1, you will need to first install the Edge browser on your device of choice (and log into it). <\/p>\n

For iOS users, navigate to Settings General Autofill & Passwords and turn on Edge.<\/p>\n

Android users click their way to Settings General management Passwords and autofill Autofill service and select Edge.<\/p>\n

Laptop and desktop users will need to open Edge and navigate to Settings Profiles Passwords. There you should find an autofill toggle and another option to save new passwords to your account.<\/p>\n

Downloading your passwords to use in a password manager<\/p>\n

Firstly, check out our advice on selecting and using password managers<\/a>. There are many services \u2014 paid and free \u2014 out there and options to consider.<\/p>\n

Now to export your Authenticator passwords, open the app on your device then navigate to Settings Export Passwords. This will spit out an exported file containing your data.<\/p>\n

Most of the password managers out there \u2014 including those built into other browsers, or Apple and Android\u2019s own key ring apps \u2014 will have an import option, which should accept this file. If you\u2019re having difficulty with the import, it\u2019s best to consult their customer service lines for help. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 If you\u2019re a Microsoft Authenticator user, like me, you\u2019ve probably received at least one…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":104468,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[24456,64,57,346,1165,50601,793,158,61,67,132,68,107],"class_list":{"0":"post-104467","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-biometrics","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-general-news","11":"tag-information-security","12":"tag-lifestyle","13":"tag-one-tech-tip","14":"tag-software","15":"tag-technology","16":"tag-u-s-news","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114941527619084508","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104467\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104468"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}