3 ms·
As with everything, you probably want a backup. Get more than one passkey. I pretty much use 3; Yubikey in my workstation, portable Yubikey, phone. All 3 of
by jrockway 3y ago
As with everything, you probably want a backup. Get more than one passkey.
I pretty much use 3; Yubikey in my workstation, portable Yubikey, phone. All 3 of those can bootstrap Google, which I use for email, and Apple, which I use for my phone. Then, everything else is in 1password, which are available through those mediums. Worst case, I am pretty sure in the most dire of dire emergencies, I can get my email back no matter what. Verify ID with my DNS provider, switch MX records, back in business. Even then, it's not necessarily essential to daily life. (A colossal inconvenient to lose access? For sure. Death sentence? Probably not.) All my SMS and Signal contacts are elsewhere. I can spend money out of my bank account by writing a check. I can get into work stuff by showing up in person at an office.
I do think that passkeys are probably too complicated for the ordinary user of computers; unfortunately that "we'll just email you a link every single time you want to sign in" seems like the most user-friendly passwordless authentication.
I also don't feel great about my habit of putting passkeys in 1password, because I know I'm locked in forever. But, I like the service, and when I want to switch, welp, at least there's a list of accounts I have to remake.
My biggest fear is something like forgetting my phone's passcode. One time I woke up, got distracted at just the wrong moment, and could not for the life of me remember my 6 digit passcode. (I also use the same code to unlock my workstation.) I had to distract myself and then use muscle memory to remember it. It was really crazy, truly one of those "did I just have a stroke" moments. I have that saved in 1password now, so if I have one unlocked device, I can refresh my memory. This happened a while ago and I don't think I have dementia. Just a weird quirk.
(Meanwhile, I can perfectly remember every 1-year-max-lifetime password I've ever had at any job. A lot of that good does when you can't remember a 6 digit number!)