What is Web Authentication (WebAuthn)?

What is Web Authentication (WebAuthn)?

Web Authentication, also known as WebAuthn, is a web standard that enables strong, passwordless authentication for web applications. It is a joint effort between the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the FIDO Alliance. WebAuthn provides an API for websites to interact with security keys, biometric sensors, or other authenticators to authenticate users without relying on passwords.

With WebAuthn, users can authenticate themselves to a website using a variety of authentication methods, including biometric authentication, such as fingerprint or facial recognition, or hardware security keys. The authentication process is designed to be more secure and convenient than traditional username/password authentication, as it eliminates the risk of phishing attacks, password reuse, and password-based attacks.

WebAuthn is supported by all major web browsers, including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Apple Safari. It has gained widespread adoption among major websites and services, including Dropbox, GitHub, Microsoft, and Google.

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