mpogopogo

I teach computer science and I’ve had several students ask about passkeys now that they’ve started appearing. Some students have tried to learn themselves, but they run into a wall of impenetrable text at the FIDO Alliance. Is there a plan to educate the public about passkeys (beyond Reddit)? If the plan is to replace passwords for the general public, there’s a long way to go.

Thank you. Those are good resources to share.

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I have no problem explaining it to my students, but if the success of passkeys relies on me explaining it everyone, that's going to be a problem. I don't have that kind of time! Seriously, I just see this change coming and if somewhat tech-literate teenagers are having trouble understanding it, what chance is there for their parents or (even worse) tech-challenged grandparents? Passwords need to die, but without a concerted effort to educate and guide people, passkeys are doomed to fail. We rely on all sorts of terrible technologies (e.g., email, SMS, IPv4) that stay around because of inertia. If no one understands passkeys, they won't get used just because some engineers have decided they're better. I hope someone gets that message.

Just curious if there is a plan to educate the public? If the plan is just to start using it, I see it being about as popular as encrypted email. Even in this AmA, the top questions are asking how passkeys are different than passwords.