After WhatsApp, TikTok and Google, Amazon now also offers the login method, which will replace passwords in the future. TECHBOOK reveals how to set up your passkey for Amazon.
Passkeys – according to experts, they are more secure than passwords. They are more comfortable for users and yet they have not yet achieved the widespread triumph that was previously predicted. A less tech-savvy audience in particular may have missed the hype surrounding the password alternative so far. However, that will probably change in the near future as more and more frequently used applications and companies jump on the passkey bandwagon. Most recently, WhatsApp launched with the more secure login method, as TECHBOOK reported. Now Amazon is following suit.
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Passkeys have this advantage
Passkeys are intended to replace old-fashioned passwords, as the latter are not always secure and are often impractical if you forget them, for example. It’s probably already happened to a few people on Amazon: You want to look at a product on the go or even order it directly, but you can’t log in. After all, who knows their Amazon access data by heart? A password manager for your smartphone could help, but the risk of insecure passwords remains. These can be intercepted by criminals through phishing and then misused. This cannot happen with passkeys.
Also interesting: The most secure password managers for smartphones and browsers
With this alternative login method, a key pair is created once. One key remains on the user’s device, the other is received by the service provider. For example, if you use your Android smartphone as a passkey device, you store the other key with Google. To log in, you don’t have to generate an extra password for each individual account, but rather verify yourself with your key. This is activated and protected by entering the respective device PIN, fingerprint scan or Face ID. Applied to Amazon, this means: As soon as the passkey login is activated on the smartphone, you can simply log into your Amazon account using your fingerprint etc.
How to set up the passkey on Amazon
Setting it up is actually quite simple: log in to your Amazon account. Under “My Account” you will find the “Login & Security” tab and the “Passkey” option will appear there. Now one might think that the safer and more convenient method can and should replace the previous two-factor authentication (2FA). But Amazon says: “If you have activated the 2-step verification and used a master key instead of a password to log in, you will have to verify a one-time code after logging in with the master key.” This is the actual core idea of passkeys because this is 2FA by default.
Also interesting: What is two-factor authentication and how does it work?
The passkey method has been available in the Amazon web application since October 23, 2023 and has since then been gradually activated for the iOS Amazon shopping app. The corresponding Android application is expected to follow “soon”, although Amazon is not providing any further details on the schedule. There is also no information as to whether Passkey will also be available on other Amazon apps such as Amazon Prime Video.
There also seems to be some annoyance when a user is redirected to a different Amazon domain (e.g. from amazon.de to amazon.com), depending on the country they have set up. Depending on the country or top-level domain, a separate passkey is required that must be set up specifically for this purpose. Overall, the passkey should be a relief for Amazon customers, especially for those who shop on multiple devices and don’t want to constantly re-enter their passwords.
source
Amazon: “Amazon is making it easier and safer for you to access your account with passwordless sign-in(accessed on October 24, 2023)