Docusign Customers Can Upgrade from Passwords to Passkeys

Passkeys are the next evolution of login credentials. They replace hard-to-remember passwords and verify anyone’s identity with biometric information, providing an easier and more secure way to access apps and websites. Thanks to our partnership with Google, Docusign customers can now take a step toward a passwordless future by using passkeys to log in on mobile devices and web browsers.

This new capability is great news for anyone who’s ever lost or forgotten a password. Instead of long strings of numbers, letters and symbols, passkeys use fingerprints, facial recognition, USB key or smartphone PINs to authenticate users. It’s a seamless login process that works around the inconveniences and shortcomings of passwords.

Passkeys are better than passwords in two important ways:

Biometric information can’t be forgotten

The hardest part about using passwords is remembering them. Especially for business technologies which often require long, complex passwords and must be routinely changed. Passkeys don’t have that problem because they give anyone the option to log in with unique physical information.

Biometric authentication data won’t be forgotten. Passkey logins aren’t tied to a specific piece of hardware either, so when you upgrade your smartphone or log in from a new device, there’s no need to repeat the setup process. Your passkey can be saved to a Google Password Manager or an iCloud keychain.

Passkeys are more secure than passwords

Because of the difficulty of remembering them, passwords often get written down or reused. Those shortcuts increase the risk of a breach. Standard passwords can also be stolen by security attacks targeting credentials, like phishing. Passwords are just strings of characters, so any person can input that login data and access an account if the information is correct.

Since passkeys use unique personal information for authentication, it’s harder for bad actors to artificially recreate that login data. Passkeys are a FIDO2-compliant technology that offers a safer login alternative in a world of increasingly advanced cyber threats.

How to set up your Docusign passkey

Passkeys are currently only available in our demo environment. We will start ramping passkeys in production in mid-July. To create a passkey for your Docusign account, start by logging in with your laptop or mobile device. You’ll need to use your existing username and password, but this is the last time you’ll ever need that password.

Once you’re logged in, you’ll see a prompt to create a passkey. If you choose to do so, your mobile device will receive a prompt to provide your passkey information. You can use that device to provide a face, fingerprint or PIN to be stored in your account as the new login passkey. 

For future mobile logins, that passkey will replace your old password as the necessary login credential. If you’re trying to log in using a computer browser, you can select “log in with passkey” and provide the information using any linked device. If you haven’t already linked your mobile device to your account, a QR code will help you do that.

Rather than storing your password in another system, writing it down or making several attempts until you get it right, the passkey login experience can be as simple as entering your username and looking at your smartphone or placing your finger on it. 

Passkeys make logging in simpler, safer and less frustrating. We are thrilled to be part of the "Beginning of the End of the Password" movement with Google!