Setting Up Passkeys —
Google, Apple, Microsoft & Amazon
Published October 2026 · Last verified October 2026
Passkeys let you sign in with your face, fingerprint, or PIN instead of typing a password — and the big accounts are ready for them. This guide walks you through turning one on for Google, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon, one calm step at a time, plus how to keep a backup and what to do if you lose your phone.
Passkeys let you sign in with your face, fingerprint, or PIN instead of typing a password — and the big accounts are ready for them. This guide walks you through turning one on for Google, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon, one calm step at a time, plus how to keep a backup and what to do if you lose your phone.
What's inside this guide
The printable PDF walks through 30 short chapters, in plain language. It also includes an everyday cheat sheet, a plain-English word list and at-a-glance pictures.
- What a passkey is, in one minute
- Three things to check before you start
- Where passkeys get stored
- Setting up a passkey for your Google account
- Testing your Google passkey
- Setting up a passkey for your Apple ID
- How Apple passkeys follow you around
- Setting up a passkey for a Microsoft account
- Windows Hello and where the Microsoft passkey lives
- Setting up a passkey for Amazon
- What signing in looks like from now on
- Using a passkey on a computer that isn't yours
- One account, several passkeys — that's good
- Backing up: never rely on a single device
- Passkeys across different ecosystems
- Using a password manager to hold passkeys everywhere
- A security key as your offline backup
- What to do if you lose your phone
- Keep your old password — for now
- When a site doesn't offer passkeys yet
- Common snags and quick fixes
- Helping a parent set up their first passkey
- Scams that try to exploit the switch
- What a passkey shares, and what it doesn't
- A simple rollout plan
- Managing the passkeys you've made
- Adding a passkey on a tablet or second phone
- Passkeys at your bank and other sensitive sites
- Passkeys on your streaming and shopping accounts
- Frequently asked questions
Get the printable guide
Everything above is a quick summary. The full, printable guide — the same words, laid out to read and keep by the computer — is a free PDF.
Last verified October 2026. Information accurate as of October 25, 2026.
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Any prices or outside products mentioned in this guide can change over time — the details here were last checked August 2026 and this page is accurate as of October 18, 2026; please confirm current pricing before you buy. See how often we review our guides →