WhatsApp begins rolling out passkeys for iPhone users

New Delhi, April 25, 2024.

Keeping our conversations private is really important to all of us, especially when we are talking to friends or family on instant messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram. Lately, WhatsApp has been adding new features to make sure our messages stay private and our time on the app is smoother. And now, there’s some exciting news for iPhone users. WhatsApp has begun rolling out passkey verification for iOS users. The feature was made available to Android users about six months back. This feature is meant to make it easier and safer to verify our accounts. Let’s take a closer look at what this is all about.

The passkey feature rollout on iOS comes half a year after WhatsApp initially introduced passkey support for Android users. With this update, iOS users will soon bid farewell to the hassle of dealing with SMS one-time passcodes.

Passkey verification offers multiple authentication options, including facial recognition, biometrics, or a PIN stored on Apple’s passkey manager. This diverse range of options not only provides convenience but also ensures a robust defence against unauthorised access. This means that iOS users can log back in to their WhatsApp accounts without the need for a password or a two-factor authentication method via SMS. You can even log back in via passkey even when you are not connected to the internet, since the authentication key is on your phone.