Let's be honest—on how many websites do you use the same password? We all know we should be using a unique password for every site, but in reality most of us just tweak the same one over and over. Adding a 1 or ! at the end unfortunately doesn't make it any more secure.

The convenience of reusing passwords comes at a big risk. If any one site you use gets hacked (which seems to happen every other week these days), your password is exposed everywhere. For years, password managers like 1Password have tried to get us to use randomly generated passwords, but it's been an uphill battle and—quite frankly—a battle that has failed.

Passkeys: Extremely secure and extremely convenient

Passkeys use your fingerprint, Face ID, or Windows Hello to log you in—no need to remember complex passwords anymore! 

Here's how the technology works its magic: passkeys use public key cryptography under the hood. This essentially means your device stores two encrypted keys—a public key that gets shared with sites you log into, and a private key that stays on your device only. When you authenticate with your fingerprint or face, your device signs the login request using your private key. The website can verify it came from you by checking it against the public key they have stored for your account. This allows the website to confirm your identity without ever seeing your actual biometric data, keeping it secure on your device only.

The end benefit is you get secure passwordless logins without having to memorize complex passwords, while keeping your biometric data private. Passkeys can't be phished; a scammer can't send you a fake login page to steal your credentials. If sites get hacked, no authentication information can be stolen. And passkeys replace two-factor authentication—no more copying codes from your phone to the login page!

2 taps to buy an NFT

We just launched passkey support in our NFT storefronts here at Kairos. Now when creators sell NFTs with Kairos’ storefront or dapp APIs, collectors can sign up with passkeys by default. On mobile, this means buying an NFT takes only two taps:

• Tap to autofill your email
• Use Face ID to authenticate with your passkey
• Tap Apple/Android Pay to pay instantly
• 💫 That's it! The NFT is yours.

This is a real game changer in terms of user experience without compromising on security at all. Our implementation is optimized for efficiency compared to what else is out there right now:

• We use passkeys as the primary login. Other sites use passkeys as a secondary authentication after requiring the user to manually type passwords. This adds unnecessary complexity. Our passkey approach logs the user in with just a valid finger tap or Face ID confirmation.
• We use browser autofill. After a passkey signup, the browser remembers the user’s email. When the user returns to log in again, the browser automatically fills in the email and pops up the passkey prompt. This is a huge time saver for users!
• We sync with their devices. Using the same browser across devices automatically syncs the user’s passkey. This means that if they sign up on their laptop, they can log in on their phone without having to complete any additional steps.

Creators also benefit from a better conversion funnel on their storefronts:

• 2 taps to purchase: Customers complete purchases with just 2 taps instead of the usual 6+ taps required for password logins.
• Lower dropout rates & fatigue: We've seen up to 30% of shoppers abandon their carts when faced with a tedious login/checkout process. Passkeys slash dropout rates.
• No app switching: No more switching between apps to copy codes or look up passwords. Authentication happens instantly right within the browsing session.
• Faster checkout: In beta testing, customers reported breezing through checkout nearly twice as fast with passkeys enabled. This made them more likely to purchase again.

We're thrilled with passkeys and can't wait for wider adoption. Get in touch to launch your NFT collection with us today!