Microsoft Goes Passwordless as Default for New Sign‑Ups

by Justin Erickson

Microsoft has renamed “World Password Day” to “World Passkey Day” and will no longer prompt people creating fresh Microsoft accounts to choose a password. Instead, the company has revamped the sign‑in flow — they enroll new users directly in passkeys or other FIDO‑based options such as Windows Hello, security keys, or mobile push approvals. Microsoft says the change follows internal tests showing 98% of successful passkey logins and only 32% successful password logins. Existing accounts remain unchanged but can delete their passwords in account settings.