Face ID and Touch ID Logins Coming to Websites With Safari Web Authentication API

Apple allows Touch ID and Face ID to be used in lieu of a password to access sensitive apps like those for banking or password management, and in the future, ‌Face ID‌ and ‌Touch ID‌ will also be able to be used for authentication purposes when logging into a website.

faceidwebsites
Apple outlines the feature in a WWDC20 engineering session called "Meet ‌Face ID‌ and ‌Touch ID‌ for the web," which covers how web developers can use ‌Face ID‌ and ‌Touch ID‌ on their websites with the Web Authentication API.

An initial login on a website that supports the feature will require a username, passcode, and two-factor authentication code to be entered, but after that, ‌Face ID‌ or ‌Touch ID‌ can handle the login process. Signing in this way will require users to click on the sign in button, after which Safari will ask for confirmation. With the confirmation, a ‌Face ID‌ (or ‌Touch ID‌) scan is done, and the user is able to log in.

Apple says ‌Face ID‌ and ‌Touch ID‌ authentication is beneficial because it's frictionless, simple, and secure. The online session described it as "phishing resistant."

But more importantly, it is Phishing-resistant. Safari will only allow public credentials created by this API to be used within the Web site they were created, and the credential can never be exported out from the authenticater they were created in as well. This means that once a public credential has been provisioned, there is no way for a user to accidentally divulge it to another party. Cool right?! This is the overview of the Web Authentication standard.

Additional detail about the feature, including instructions on how web developers can enable it, can be found in the full video along with the accompanying resources.

Popular Stories

iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Next Week With These New Features for Your iPhone

Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week. Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far. Apple Intelligence for Siri Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
iPhone 17 Roundup Feature 2

iPhone Design to Change 'Significantly' This Year

Monday February 17, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple is set to "significantly change" the iPhone's design language later this year, according to a Weibo leaker. In a new post, the user known "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone's design is "starting to change significantly" this year. The "iPhone 17 Air" reportedly features a "horizontal, bar-shaped" design on the rear, likely referring to an elongated camera bump. On the other...
apple launch feb 2025 alt

What to Expect From the 'Apple Launch' Next Week

Thursday February 13, 2025 11:48 am PST by
Apple has yet to announce any new devices this year, but that could change starting next week. Apple CEO Tim Cook today said to "get ready" for a "launch" on Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," said Cook, in a social media post. The post includes an #AppleLaunch hashtag, along with a short video featuring an animated Apple logo inside of a circle....
Apple Maps 2024

Apple Maps Might Start Showing Ads

Sunday February 16, 2025 7:22 am PST by
Apple is "exploring" the idea of showing search ads in the Apple Maps app, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Back in 2022, Gurman said software engineering was "already underway" to display ads in the Apple Maps app, but Apple did not move forward with the idea at the time. Today, he said Apple is "giving this notion more thought" again. This time around, he said Apple has yet to...
Tim Cook Apple Park

10+ Announcements Apple Could Have Rolled Into a February Event

Saturday February 15, 2025 8:00 am PST by
Apple appears to have enough upcoming product announcements to justify a full event this month, yet all signs indicate these reveals will be handled through a series of press releases instead. There are a multitude of rumors from reliable sources about specific announcements in the coming weeks, so here's everything that Apple could have feasibly included in a hypothetical February event: ...
iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

iPhone 17 Pro With All-New Camera Bar Design Allegedly Revealed

Thursday February 13, 2025 5:49 pm PST by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro will feature three rear cameras arranged in a familiar triangular layout, but the cameras will be housed in an all-new rectangular camera bar with rounded corners, according to YouTube channel Front Page Tech. iPhone 17 Pro camera design render created by Asher for Front Page Tech In a video uploaded today, Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser said the camera ...
m2 pro mac mini

Apple is Now Selling a Refurbished Mac Mini for Just $319 (!)

Saturday February 15, 2025 9:58 am PST by
A few days ago, we reported that Apple's refurbished Mac mini pricing had a problem, and it appears that Apple has taken note. Apple was offering a refurbished Mac mini with the M2 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage for $559, which was $50 more than a refurbished Mac mini with the M4 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. All other key specifications were equal. That's no longer...
iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

Apple's Next iPhone SE Launching on Wednesday - Here's What We Know

Friday February 14, 2025 4:04 pm PST by
Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an Apple announcement that's coming on Wednesday, February 19, and it's looking like that mystery announcement will be the next-generation iPhone SE. We've been hearing about the iPhone SE 4 for quite some time now, and we essentially know everything to expect. If you want a sneak peek at what's coming, read on. Naming Apple first introduced the iPhone SE in...

Top Rated Comments

swm Avatar
61 months ago
i see the future, where the password manager app developers protest for a senate hearing about apple's monopolistic business practices
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
konqerror Avatar
61 months ago

What if you have a non Apple device in your family of Apple devices?
You can’t very easily login there. I hope Apple will work with IEEE to set a standard for this so everyone can participate.
This is already a standard, called FIDO2. If you have non-Apple devices, sites allow multiple keys, or simply forget this and use an external USB/NFC/Bluetooth key.


I don’t really see how this is much more convienient that just using FaceID to grant access to the keychain?
One: it is phising-resistant, two: if the data was intercepted or the other side has a database leak, the information is worthless since it cannot be used for future logins.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArtOfWarfare Avatar
61 months ago

so I believe Sign In with Apple creates/connects an account with your Apple ID

This is basically a faster FaceID/TouchArcade reauthentication for your existing accounts.

The video demos it.

arn
TouchArcade ???
I assume autocorrect strikes again.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
konqerror Avatar
61 months ago

I know FIDO2, that’s different. It’s basically a hardware token system. It’s not compatible with Sign In with Apple, which is SSO via Apple.
Did you read the article? It's saying that Apple platforms will act as a built-in FIDO2 authenticator; something that Windows and Android already do today.

Exactly like Microsoft did, they implemented FIDO2 locked to their own site first, and are now expanding it to other sites.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kiensoy Avatar
61 months ago
Another “finally” of the many in iOS14.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dwaltwhit Avatar
61 months ago
I can’t wait til we don’t even use passwords anymore
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)