Nobody really likes entering a password, and Microsoft has already made it pretty clear that it’s no fan. After ditching the need to time-limit passwords, the company is now ready to experiment with a password-free future.
The latest Windows 10 Insider Preview Build (18936) comes with an option to turn off passwords entirely.
This doesn’t mean that all your files are suddenly going to be fair game, of course, and if you ditch the password you have to have something else in place. Microsoft will let you log in with your face (using a Windows Hello compatible camera), a fingerprint, a PIN or a security key. If you’re happy with that, a new option appears asking if you want to “Make your device passwordless”. Interestingly, in the screenshot provided by Microsoft it’s listed as “recommended.”
“For improved security and a more seamless sign-in experience, you can now enable passwordless sign-in for Microsoft accounts on your Windows 10 device by going to Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options, and selecting ‘On’ under ‘Make your device passwordless’,” Microsoft’s Dona Sarkar and Brandon LeBlanc wrote in a blog post accompanying the new build.
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But it’s not for all Insiders yet. “This feature is currently being rolled out to a small portion of Insiders and the above option may not show for all users in Settings,” they wrote. “If the toggle isn’t showing for you yet, check back in a week so.”
While probably the most significant in the long run, the end of the password isn’t the only change in 18936. The Your Phone app phone screen mode – where your whole phone screen is mirrored in Windows – now works with all Surface Laptops; Surface Pro 4, 5 and 6; and both generations of Surface Book. The new build also includes the ability to create events neatly from the taskbar calendar – like this:
Would you ditch the password completely if you could? Let us know on Twitter: @TrustedReviews.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
