alt Hacker News>We have now gone from having to “redo everything” to being asked to switch to a passkey by a grand total of one website.
Yeah right.
When passkeys were rolled out, I was told it's OK because "passwords are always going to be required to be an available alternative".
Now we've moved the goalposts to "it's just one website".
>Sometimes the new thing really is just better.
And sometimes your backpack is stolen when you're traveling, with your phone and laptop (happened to me in Poland), and you need to log into your accounts while having none of your devices or your phone number available.
Pray tell then what.
What if I told you I was not one of the people saying that? You can’t take two different people with two different opinions and say “Look! You’ve moved the goalposts!”
If passkeys are significantly better, passwords will gradually stop existing. If passwords are, passkeys probably won’t catch on.
> And sometimes your backpack is stolen when you're traveling, with your phone and laptop (happened to me in Poland), and you need to log into your accounts while having none of your devices or your phone number available.
I personally keep a separate YubiKey that—along with a memorized password—is sufficient for me to retrieve my password manager database and unlock it. If this is a sufficiently motivating use-case for you, you too can take these kinds of steps to mitigate the risk.
But since we’re playing the “what if” game, what happens if you get early onset dementia and forget your passwords? Pray tell then what?