iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma Add Passkey Support to Your Apple ID - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma Add Passkey Support to Your Apple ID

by

Starting with iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and macOS Sonoma, users with an Apple ID will automatically be assigned a passkey, allowing them to sign into their Apple ID with Face ID or Touch ID instead of their password on various Apple sign-in pages, including icloud.com, appleid.apple.com, appstoreconnect.apple.com, and more.

iOS 17 Passkey With Apple ID Feature 3
Passkeys are a more secure alternative to passwords. Apple explains:

A passkey is a cryptographic entity that's not visible to you, and it's used in place of a password. A passkey consists of a key pair, which—compared to a password—profoundly improves security. One key is public, registered with the website or app you're using. The other key is private, held only by your devices.

Passkey support for Apple IDs will also be available for third-party apps and websites that support the "Sign in with Apple" feature.

Users running beta versions of iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and macOS Sonoma can test this functionality on supported Apple sign-in pages starting today, but it does not yet appear to be available for everyone. All users with an Apple ID will be able to sign in with a passkey once the software updates are released to the public later this year.

Passkey support on the Apple ID page was spotted earlier by Twitter user @aaronp613.

Tags: Apple ID Guide, Passkeys
Related Forums: iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS Sonoma

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple Just Released a New Accessory

Monday May 4, 2026 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today released a new Pride Edition Sport Loop for the Apple Watch. The band features a rainbow design with 11 colors of woven nylon yarns. The new Pride Edition Sport Loop is available to order now on Apple.com and in the Apple Store app in 40mm, 42mm, and 46mm sizes, and it will be available at Apple Store locations starting later this week. In the U.S., the band costs $49. There...
Read Full Article
iOS 26

Apple Says iOS 26.5 Adds Three New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday May 5, 2026 7:36 am PDT by
iOS 26.5 includes three new features for iPhones, according to Apple's release notes for the update, which is expected to be released next week. As discovered during beta testing, iOS 26.5 enables end-to-end encryption for RCS messaging between iOS and Android devices. Apple says this security upgrade is limited to supported carriers around the world and will continue to roll out....
Read Full Article • 27 comments
mac mini green 2

Apple Cuts More Mac Studio and Mac Mini RAM Options as Memory Shortage Worsens

Tuesday May 5, 2026 12:34 pm PDT by
Apple has removed more desktop Macs from its online store as the global memory shortage continues. Mac mini models with 32GB and 64GB of RAM are no longer available for purchase, nor is the M3 Ultra Mac Studio with 256GB RAM. The M3 Ultra Mac Studio is now available only in a 96GB RAM configuration, with higher-tier options eliminated. Both M3 Mac Studio and M4 Max Mac Studio models have...
Read Full Article • 295 comments

Top Rated Comments

Windoes Avatar
Windoes
38 months ago

This is great for all people
Corrected
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M
mystery hill
38 months ago

Sounds like a very good idea, but what do you do to get support on a Windows machine?
You would scan the QR code displayed on the Windows device with your iPhone.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M
mystery hill
38 months ago

Unfortunately on iOS, the backup to Face-ID for the iPhone's Keychain or PassKeys is the iPhone's passcode. So anyone that has access to your phone and knows the passcode, can use the phone's passcode to log-in to iCloud or Apple ID with this feature.
Anyone who has access to your phone and knows your passcode, can already view all your data on your device. They wouldn’t even need to log in to iCloud.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
C
CraigJDuffy
38 months ago

“more secure alternative to passwords” that is… a pretty loaded claim

useful, necessary, probably the future: sure. more dummy-proof, quite likely. more secure… hmmmmmmm… wellllll…
Passkeys remove the biggest threat to passwords - phishing.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ipedro Avatar
ipedro
38 months ago

Unfortunately on iOS, the backup to Face-ID for the iPhone's Keychain or PassKeys is the iPhone's passcode. So anyone that has access to your phone and knows the passcode, can use the phone's passcode to log-in to iCloud or Apple ID with this feature.
This is a problem, I agree, but one that’s more of a cultural problem than a tech issue and is fairly easy to avoid.

People are so used to typing in their PIN every time they unlock their phone if they’re not using biometric unlock.

People need to be taught to never use their PIN in public and if they absolutely must, then guard it like you do your bank card PIN.

There could be some technology enabled backup solutions like adding a hierarchy of devices with more power over the others, whereas my home Mac can override my iPhone’s lock and revert security changes recently made by the iPhone.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
S
sk1ski1
38 months ago
Unfortunately on iOS, the backup to Face-ID for the iPhone's Keychain or PassKeys is the iPhone's passcode. So anyone that has access to your phone and knows the passcode, can use the phone's passcode to log-in to iCloud or Apple ID with this feature.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments
Related Apple News: Health | Travel | World News | Iphone | Local News