---
title: Passwordless authentication
summary: null
url: https://www.fastly.com/documentation/solutions/demos/passkeys
---


## What are Passkeys? 

[Passkeys](https://passkeys.dev/) are a replacement for passwords that provides faster, easier, and more secure sign-ins to websites and apps across a user’s devices – using on-device authentication features like biometric locks. Unlike passwords, passkeys are always strong and phishing-resistant.

Passkeys generated by the main platform authenticator vendors (Apple, Google, and Microsoft) are automatically synchronized across a user's cloud-connected devices. This makes them a compelling alternative to the ubiquitous "password + 2nd-factor" authentication. 

## What is WebAuthn?

[WebAuthn](https://webauthn.guide/#about-webauthn) is a standard API that allows servers to register and authenticate users using public key cryptography.

Instead of using passwords, it leverages a private-public keypair that is unique for each website: the private key remains on the user's device, while the public key and a randomly generated credential ID are sent to the server. The server can then use that public key to prove a user’s identity.

## What's happening here?

Passkeys and WebAuthn are part of the [FIDO2 authentication framework](https://fidoalliance.org/specifications/):
![FIDO2: WebAuthn + CTAP diagram](https://passkeys.edgecompute.app/images/fido.png)

This demo shows a high scale, globally distributed Relying Party server implementation as a **single, originless** [Fastly Compute](/learning/compute/) service written in Rust 🦀 and compiled to WebAssembly. User data and short-lived challenges are stored in the [KV Store](/learning/concepts/edge-state/data-stores/), Fastly's edge state system. With this kind of solution running at the edge, you can join the passwordless future today without worrying about managing data or scaling authentication infrastructure.

Make sure to also check out our video on Fastly Developers Live – [Passkeys: a future without passwords?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBNMGlC3oXs)