Microsoft is making passwords optional for MSA accounts to improve security

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Published onSeptember 15, 2021

published onSeptember 15, 2021

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Microsoft is making a big step towards a passwordless feature today bymaking passwords optional for personal MSA accounts. The company previously enabledpasswordless sign in for commercial usersearlier this year, and it’s now following up by allowing consumers to ditch their MSA account password in favor of more secure alternatives.

“Beginning today, you can now completely remove the password from your Microsoft consumer account. Use Microsoft Authenticator app, Windows Hello, a security key, or a verification code sent to your phone or email to sign in to your favorite apps and services, such as Outlook, OneDrive, FamilySafety, and more,” explained Vasu Jakkal, CVP of Microsoft Security.

The reason Microsoft believes going passwordless is the future is pretty simple: it’s not only impossible for humans to remember multiple complex passwords that need to be changed from time to time, and passwords can also be obtained by hackers by various means, including social engineering techniques. For an organization, a hacker managing to breach a single account could have really devastating consequences.

“We’ve heard great feedback from our enterprise customers who have been on the passwordless journey with us. In fact, Microsoft itself is a great test case — nearly 100% of our employees use passwordless options to log in to their corporate account,” explained Jakkal.

To go passwordless with your personal Microsoft account, you’ll first need to install the Microsoft Authenticator app on your iOS and Android device and sign in there with your account. Once you’re ready, you can visit account.microsoft.com, sign in, and choose Advanced Security Options. Under “Additional Security Options, there should be a “Passwordless Account” option, which you can turn on.

Microsoft says that this feature will be rolled out to consumer accounts over the coming weeks, so you may not be able to go passwordless immediately. Anyway, be assured that you can still re-add a password for your Microsoft account if you’re not ready yet to go fully passwordless.

Radu Tyrsina

Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time).

For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web.

Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they’re looking for.

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