150 Million People Have Already Stopped Using Passwords

In honor of World Password Day this week, Microsoft shared some interesting statistics on its blog. According to analysts, more and more people are moving away from traditional passwords and choosing alternative authentication solutions. The number of users adopting Microsoft’s “passwordless” solutions has reached 150 million, up from 100 million in November 2019. This figure includes users of the company’s online services such as Azure, GitHub, Office, and Xbox.

The company’s statistics include users who rely on Windows Hello (fingerprint and facial recognition) to access Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), as well as those who use the Microsoft Authenticator app and FIDO2-enabled security keys to log into various accounts without passwords.

Microsoft states that one of its current goals is to encourage people to use multi-factor authentication (MFA) and “passwordless” authentication methods more often, which will help improve the overall security of their accounts. The company’s research shows that most people tend to reuse the same passwords repeatedly, putting their accounts at risk and making them easier to hack.

Additionally, Microsoft notes that moving away from passwords helps reduce technical support costs, since employees simply don’t have passwords to forget and then request to reset. Within Microsoft itself, 90% of employees have already switched to “passwordless” authentication.