Windows Hello gets new built-in passkey powers

There’s a multi-pronged effort to get rid of passwords going on and Microsoft is part of it, even if they’re not exactly at the front. The company’s latest additions to Windows 11 in the Insider Preview Build reflect that, integrating modern passkeys (biometrics, PINs, device-based access like smartphones) into the Windows Hello system. The new interface even includes passkey management.

According to the latest post on the Insider Blog (spotted by Bleeping Computer), the new system allows users to create passkeys for supported websites and access them via Windows Hello, which can then be used to activate them via PIN, face scanning, or fingerprint scanning (with supported hardware, of course). You’ll also be able to access a list of saved passkeys via the Accounts page in Settings and manually delete any new ones.

This requires not only the latest Insider build, 23486, but support from both the browser (Edge or Chrome Canary) and the website you’re trying to access. So, in terms of the number of users who can actually access the tool for the services they want, it’s a pretty tiny slice. But every little bit helps. That still puts Windows well behind ChromeOS in terms of passkey support and we’re months away from these changes making it to the general Windows 11 build.

Other additions in build 23486 include more effects in the new Dynamic Lighting tool, a new Dev Home app that integrates with Github for developers and various other tweaks and fixes. Oh and remember that bit about removing a bunch of infrequently-used view options in File Explorer? That’s out the window after some no doubt pointed user feedback.