Microsoft finally ends using SMS codes for account sign-in — with passkeys officially taking over

https://www.techradar.com/author/sead-fadilpai· May 19, 2026 · 4:35 PM UTC ·10 min read · 0 reactions · 0 comments · 37 views

#microsoft #security #authentication #technology

TL;DR · WeSearch summary

Microsoft has announced the end of SMS codes for account sign-in, transitioning to passkeys as a more secure alternative. The company cites rising fraud risks associated with SMS authentication as the primary reason for this change. Passkeys utilize cryptographic keys and biometric verification, making them less vulnerable to phishing attacks and data breaches.

Key facts

▪Microsoft is phasing out SMS authentication due to its association with fraud.
▪The company is moving towards passwordless methods like passkeys and verified email for account security.
▪Passkeys use a pair of cryptographic keys and biometric verification to enhance security.

How this story was covered

3 outlets in our directory ran this story, first to last over 8 hours. All of the coverage we found sits in one bucket: centre. That one-sidedness is itself worth noticing.

Centre · 2

▪ Microsoft is officially killing SMS verification for personal accounts — PCWorld
▪ Microsoft is killing SMS codes for Microsoft account sign-in, aggressively pushes passkeys on Windows 11 — r/UpliftingNews

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Original article

TechRadar · https://www.techradar.com/author/sead-fadilpai

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Original publisher	TechRadar
Canonical URL	https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/microsoft-finally-ends-using-sms-codes-for-account-sign-in-with-passkeys-officially-taking-over
Publication time	Tue, 19 May 2026 16:35:00 +0000
Retrieval time	2026-05-19T16:39:57.869Z
Last seen	2026-05-19T16:39:57.869Z
Headline source	Publisher (no WeSearch rewrite)
Excerpt source	publisher body
Excerpt method	First ~120 words (~800 chars) of extracted publisher body, fair-use limited.
Summary	WeSearch · cerebras-chat (WeSearch summarizer)
Summary source text	contentText
Citation coverage	Summary is a WeSearch-generated derivative; primary citation is the original publisher URL.
Cluster	-j3Ism7ltklb · 3 stories
Cluster logic	Grouped by semantic title/content similarity across sources within a rolling window. Same-publisher template collisions are excluded from coverage comparison.
Ranking reason	Story pages are not engagement-ranked. Hub feeds use recency, with optional source-diversified chronological ordering (cap consecutive stories per source). No personalized ranking.
Publisher visit	Yes — open original
Substitutes article?	No — link-out required for full text

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Unknown

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WeSearch handling by dimension

Indexing	May the item be indexed (stored, ranked, made findable)?	Allowed
Snippet	May a short excerpt of the publisher's text be shown?	Allowed
AI summary	May WeSearch generate its own short summary of the article?	Limited
Retrieval / RAG	May the content be exposed for third-party retrieval-augmented generation?	Not asserted
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Commercial reuse	May the content be reused commercially?	Not permitted

Basis: Derived from the published RSS/Atom feed. Contact: [email protected]. Reviewed: 2026-07-24.

Open original publisher → Source rights JSON → Machine-readable provenance → Rights framework → WESEARCH-STORY-PROVENANCE-V1

Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand

Pro Security Microsoft finally ends using SMS codes for account sign-in — with passkeys officially taking over News By Sead Fadilpašić published 19 May 2026 "Passkeys are phishing-resistant and eliminate the risk of fraud," Microsoft said. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Shutterstock) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Microsoft says it will phase out SMS authentication and recovery due to rising fraud risksThe company is shifting toward passwordless methods like passkeys and verified email for account securityResearchers have warned of…

Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at TechRadar.

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