Ahead of launch of Passkeys, which requires users to have two-factor authentication, Apple says 95%+ of active iCloud users have 2FA enabled on their accounts
With its next round of software updates coming this fall, including iOS 16 and macOS Ventura, Apple will launch integrated support for the passkeys standard. Tweets: @counternotions , @feefyou , and @chancehmiller Tweets: Kontra / @counternotions : On the eve of iOS 16 & macOS Ventura shipping with Passkeys that obsolete passwords, Apple says 95% of iCloud users have already enabled 2FA. (Time to investigate Apple.) https://9to5mac.com/... Dan Booms / @feefyou : @Techmeme @ChanceHMiller That's only because Apple does a very good (bad!!) job of making it seem like you have no choice. Whereas 2FA is such an added friction! Chance Miller / @chancehmiller : Apple shared this cool statistic with me. Should really help the adoption of passkeys among users in iOS 16 and macOS Ventura. https://twitter.com/...
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple had been building toward credential management in its platform, from expanded Keychain and two-factor features to its public passkey demonstrations alongside Microsoft and Google. The reported two-factor enrollment gives the upcoming operating-system rollout a large base of accounts already meeting its prerequisite.
The move also anticipates a later expansion in which Apple ID passkeys are generated automatically and accepted on Apple and iCloud websites, extending passwordless login from a platform capability into Apple’s own account flows.
First-order effects
- More than 95% of active iCloud users are immediately eligible for Apple’s passkey support when it arrives in iOS 16 and macOS Ventura, reducing the need to first enroll users in two-factor authentication.
- Apple can introduce passkeys as an extension of its existing iCloud account-security setup rather than as a separate enrollment campaign.
Second-order effects
- App and website operators targeting Apple users gain a stronger incentive to support the passkey standard, since a large installed base can satisfy its two-factor prerequisite.
- Apple’s earlier alignment with Microsoft and Google on passkey-based account setup makes developer support more valuable across major device ecosystems rather than only within Apple’s products.
Third-order effects
- If platform providers continue to pair passkeys with pre-enrolled two-factor accounts, passwordless authentication will increasingly be distributed through operating-system account infrastructure and built-in credential managers.
- The later automatic creation of Apple ID passkeys points to a model in which account providers reduce password use by making credential migration a default platform behavior.
The trend: Major platform vendors are using existing account-security enrollment and device authentication to make passwordless sign-in a built-in ecosystem capability.