It seems that the famous “WhatsApp” application will soon give its users the advantage of dispensing with passwords, which could be the beginning of the end for the era of user identity verification via passwords.

Dispensing with passwords
In detail, WhatsApp has given users of devices running the Android operating system a simpler way to enter their accounts using what is known as passkeys, which could be the beginning of the end for the era of identity verification. User via passwords or two-step verification.

In conjunction with the use of the new method of logging in for Android users, which is expected to be added to the rest of the applications during the coming period, two billion users of the “WhatsApp” application can access their accounts in the same way as unlocking their smartphones, whether using the password, the user’s face, or the fingerprint.

Passkey technology
According to technology experts, it is not yet clear whether the new method will be added to the version of WhatsApp for devices running Apple’s iOS operating system.

The disclosure of this new method came at a time when Google, Apple, and Microsoft are working to use passkey technology as an alternative to the password to access accounts on their own platforms and applications.

How to activate the passkey feature
WhatsApp, a subsidiary of Meta, said that once the passkey feature is activated on any application, the user no longer needs to remember the password or confirm his identity by using the complex two-factor verification method.

She added that the user will need Android 9 or later, in addition to linking to a Google account with the latest version of the Play Store online store so that he can add the passkey feature to the WhatsApp application. The user also needs to activate the feature. Close the phone screen.

WhatsApp's announcement of adding the new feature comes at a time when the American e-commerce giant, Amazon, announced the addition of a passkey feature to access online shopping accounts.

The FIDO alliance, which includes Google, Apple, and Microsoft, is developing the passkey technology so that it remains independent from any single giant technology company.

The importance of passwords
The password is one of the most famous and simplest means of digital verification in the world of the Internet. It is used at all levels, starting from personal use of various websites, to the systems of banks, major companies, and most government institutions. Despite this, it is the most common means of verification. Digital is easy to hack and vulnerable to electronic attacks.

In a report by Google last year, the company warned that about 4 billion user passwords had been hacked, and Google urges people to adhere to password standards, to keep your digital data safe and out of the hands of hackers.