Microsoft’s New Feature Let’s You Sign in Your Account Minus The Password

Redmond-based software firm, Microsoft Corp. announced a new feature dubbed ‘GA‘ wherein users can now just use their smartphone to sign-in to their account.

“This process is easier than standard two-step verification and significantly more secure than only a password, which can be forgotten, phished, or compromised. Using your phone to sign in with PIN or fingerprint is a seamless way to incorporate two account proofs in a way that feels natural and familiar,” Alex Simons; Director of Program Management at Microsoft Identity Division, said in the company’s blog post.

All the user has to do is add their account to the Android or iOS Microsoft Authenticator app, enter their username as usual when signing in somewhere new. Instead of entering your password, you will get a notification on your phone that you will have to “Approve” before you can access anything else.

Here’s how you set it up:

1. If you already use the Microsoft Authenticator for your personal account, select the drop down button on your account tile, and choose Enable phone sign-in.
2. If you are adding a new account on an Android phone, Microsoft automatically prompts you to set it up.
3. If you are adding a new account on an iPhone, Microsoft will automatically set it up for you by default.

Notably, Windows Phone users won’t be getting this feature as for now as they are asked to wait a bit longer. According to Simons , Windows Phone makes up <5% of the active users of the Authenticator Apps so the company have prioritized getting this working with iOS and Android for now.

“If/When it becomes a big success on those high scale platforms, we will evaluate adding support for Windows Phone,” Simons writes.

Editor’s Note: You can download it Microsoft Authenticator mobile app for Android or iOS in case you don’t have it already installed on your phone.[related-posts]