Passkeys Are Coming for Your Passwords. Is Your Recovery Ready?

Passkeys are ready for work. Is your account-recovery process?

Passkeys promise a future where phishing attacks fizzle and password databases become useless to attackers. They’re not just a login-button update—they’re a shift in how we prove identity. But here’s the catch: the hardest part of a passkey rollout isn’t the cryptography. It’s everything around it.

Your users will love the convenience of tapping a device to sign in. But what happens when someone loses their phone? Or gets a new laptop? Or needs to access a shared account? These are the questions that will make or break your rollout.

The technical implementation is straightforward, but the operational gaps trip everyone up. Passkeys expose the workarounds your team relies on—like shared logins, unsupported devices, and unclear recovery paths.

Here’s what you need to tackle before you hit “enable passkeys for everyone”:

• Map device and app support. Not all devices or apps play nicely with passkeys yet. Know your ecosystem.
• Define recovery paths. How will users regain access if they lose their device? This isn’t an afterthought—it’s part of security.
• Address shared accounts. Whose device holds the passkey for a shared login? Better yet, can you replace shared accounts with individual access?
• Test across workflows. Pilot with users who have different devices, roles, and workflows. Real-world testing will surface edge cases.

Passkeys solve a real security problem, but they also force you to confront the gaps in your identity and access management. They’re not a switch-flip—they’re a transition. Password-only apps won’t disappear overnight, and neither will the need for a clear recovery process.

Don’t measure success by how many passkeys you create. Measure it by how many users can complete their daily sign-ins without falling back to passwords. That’s when you’ll know you’ve truly moved the needle.