Phony Passkey

Question

Upon logging into my account today, I was prompted as to whether or not I wanted to create a passkey. I tried to say no, but the next prompt asked if I would like to store the passkey in my mobile device and the prompt was automatically selected to do this. How do I remove any passkeys associated with my account?

Answer 1

To find your Edge browser passkeys, copy and paste this into the Edge address bar and press Enter: edge://settings/autofill/passwords

Answer 2

Even though a synced passkey is more useful than a device-bound passkey, which is stored only on the device on which it was created, since most people are not using password managers, a device-bound passkey is the default and that's why it was presented to you in that way.

A passkey is orders of magnitude more secure than any other way to authenticate yourself to a website. Nevertheless, instructions for removing a passkey from your mobile device depend on the mobile device and the model. Instructions for a Samsung mobile device will be different from instructions for an Apple mobile device, for example.

Since Microsoft got out of the mobile device market long ago, I recommend asking the manufacturer of your mobile device for accurate instructions for your particular model.

FWIW, I accept passkeys wherever they are offered, and I sync my passkeys through my password manager so they are available on all my devices. Passkeys are particularly important for portals, like my Google account and my Microsoft account.

Answer 3

To remove passkeys associated with the account, remove them both from the account security dashboard and from the place where they were saved.

1. Check where the passkey was saved.
   • A passkey can be saved to a phone or tablet, Windows, or a synced credential manager such as Microsoft Password Manager.
2. Remove passkeys from the Microsoft account.
   • For a personal Microsoft account, sign in to Advanced Security Options at https://account.live.com/proofs/manage.
   • The dashboard shows sign-in verification methods, including passkeys.
   • Expand the passkey section and use Remove for any passkey that should no longer be associated with the account.
3. If a passkey was saved on the Windows device, remove it in Windows.
   • Open Settings > Accounts > Passkeys.
   • Select Delete passkey next to the passkey name.
4. If the passkey was saved in Microsoft Password Manager, remove it there.
   • Passkey management is handled within the passkey provider, so passkeys stored in Microsoft Password Manager must be managed there.
5. If the passkey was saved on a mobile device, remove it from that device’s passkey provider or authenticator app as well.
   • If a passkey is no longer valid or no longer wanted, delete it from the device or app where it was saved.

If a new device was involved and the passkey was stored in a synced credential manager, it may already sync across devices. In that case, removing it from the account and from the credential manager is the correct cleanup.

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