Microsoft Edge’s Password Manager Can Now Save and Sync Passkeys

Microsoft’s Edge browser can now be used to create and sync passkeys across devices. The browser’s built-in password manager can currently sync passkeys across Windows PCs, but support for more platforms is coming soon.

Passkeys are a more secure and convenient alternative to passwords, and they’re built on the Fast IDentity Online 2 (FIDO2) open standard, which Apple, Google, Amazon, and a growing number of companies also support. Passkeys created in Microsoft Password Manager are stored in the cloud in an encrypted format and protected by a PIN that users will need to set up when creating a passkey in Edge for the first time.

“When you visit a site which supports passkeys, you’ll be asked if you’d like to create a passkey in Microsoft Password Manager. The created passkey gets saved in Microsoft Password Manager and can be used to login to the specific website by simply performing your preferred way of device authentication such as fingerprint, facial recognition, or PIN code,” the Edge team explained today.

Accessing passkeys on another Windows PC will require users to verify themselves using their Microsoft Password Manager PIN. Soon, a Microsoft Password Manager plugin will allow Edge users on Windows to use their passkeys outside of the browser.

At the moment, syncing passkeys in Edge isn’t supported for Microsoft Entra accounts, and the Edge team has yet to say when this will become available. We also don’t know when support for mobile devices is coming, even though Google Chrome added that a year ago. While it’s good to see Edge getting passkey saving and syncing support, you’ll still be better served by a third-party password manager such as 1Password, Bitwarden, or Proton Pass.