Global research from the FIDO Alliance finds near-universal awareness of passkeys, with high adoption rates among consumers and enterprises
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., May 7, 2026 – On World Passkey Day 2026, the FIDO Alliance released new findings from its State of Passkeys 2026 report, highlighting strong global adoption and usage of passkeys across both consumer and enterprise environments.The findings come as the FIDO Alliance estimates that 5 billion passkeys are now in use worldwide.
Based on research spanning 11,000 consumers and 1,400 enterprise decision-makers across ten countries, the report highlights the global uptake of passkeys:
- 90% of people are now aware of passkeys, up significantly year-over-year
- 75% of people have enabled a passkey on at least one account
- 49% of people use passkeys regularly when available
- 68% of organizations have deployed or are actively deploying passkeys for employee sign-ins
- 82% say fully passwordless authentication is an ultimate goal within the workforce, with 28% having achieved this goal
This growth reflects a clear and shared demand for sign-in experiences that are simple, secure, and trusted. It has been driven by coordinated efforts across the FIDO ecosystem to develop open standards, publish best practices, and lead through real-world deployment. More than 200 organizations have taken the FIDO Alliance’s Passkey Pledge, demonstrating industry-wide commitment to advancing adoption.
“Passkeys are moving into the mainstream because they deliver something the industry has struggled to achieve for decades: authentication that is both more secure and easier to use,” said Andrew Shikiar, Executive Director and CEO of the FIDO Alliance. “What began as ecosystem alignment behind FIDO’s open standards has evolved into real global adoption — across consumer services, enterprises, and beyond. As passwords continue to drive phishing, fraud, and customer frustration, organizations everywhere are increasingly turning to passkeys to strengthen security and deliver better experiences.”
The State of Passkeys 2026 report also reveals the scale of the damage still being caused by passwords and the risk some businesses remain exposed to.
Passwords Are Still Causing Real Consumer Harm
Despite the growth of passkeys, passwords remain widespread enough to create significant risk and friction.
One in three people (33%) experienced an account compromise or received a breach notification in the past year. This continued impact reflects how many services still rely on passwords, despite the availability of more secure alternatives.
The commercial cost is also significant: 47% of consumers say they are likely to abandon a purchase or sign-in when they cannot remember their password, with 17% saying they are highly likely to do so.
Workforce Deployment Is Advancing, with Opportunity to Scale Usage
Organizations that have deployed passkeys report measurable benefits, including improved security confidence (47%), faster employee logins (45%), improved employee satisfaction with IT (43%), fewer password reset tickets (35%), and reduced phishing-related incidents (32%).
At the same time, there is still room to expand passkey usage within the workforce. A majority (57%) of organizations continue to rely on phishable authentication methods for employees’ primary day-to-day sign-in. In an environment where phishing remains a leading attack vector, this continued dependence represents a meaningful exposure.
Among organizations not yet fully passwordless, 16% say passwords plus MFA are currently sufficient, while 24% say they are waiting for technologies and standards to mature further – highlighting the need for continued education on the importance and availability of phishing-resistant authentication.
Read the full State of Passkeys 2026 report for complete findings.
Ends
Notes to Editors
State of Passkeys 2026
This report draws on two parallel studies conducted simultaneously by Sapio Research in April 2026 on behalf of the FIDO Alliance. A Consumer Study surveyed 11,000 consumers across ten countries: the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, China, and India. The margin of error is ±0.9 percentage points at 95% confidence. A Workforce Study surveyed 1,400 decision-makers across the same ten countries, all screened for direct involvement in decisions about employee sign-in, authentication, or passkey deployment at organizations with 500 or more employees. The margin of error is ±2.6 percentage points at 95% confidence. Both studies were conducted online by Sapio Research using an email invitation and an online survey.
The 5 billion passkeys estimate is calculated by the FIDO Alliance from a combination of publicly available data and its own internal passkey deployment data.
About the FIDO Alliance
The FIDO Alliance (www.fidoalliance.org) enables identity technologies that put trust and simplicity at the center of interactions among people, services, and devices. The Alliance provides a member-driven forum that publishes open technical specifications, certifies secure and interoperable products, and operates global market enablement programs.
