Products · Pattern or everyday thing
Passkeys
Raised as a usability problem by 304 people on Hacker News over 15 years (2012–2026), in 99 threads.
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Every issue, all time, most people first
- Something wrong here?
Passkeys tied to current device make logging in elsewhere complexReviewed
20122026 - Something wrong here?
Unwanted passkey prompt keeps interrupting attempts to use the passkeyReviewed
20122026 Hard to add backup passkeys, so losing a device locks people outUnreviewed
20122026- Repeatedly nags to create passkeys, then demands an extra PIN, adding things to remember2026-10-15
- Adding a second passkey is buried 6 layers deep in settings2026-10-14
- Moving passkeys to a new phone is complex and confusing, so users fear losing account access2026-10-14
QR code passkey login on PC fails with no option to use phone passkeyUnreviewed
20122026- Must scan a QR code with a phone to use a desktop2026-10-11
- QR code and passkey login prompts often fail, forcing fallback to passwords2026-09-18
- QR code sign-in is confusing when you don't know which device has a working passkey2026-06-26
Locked out with no password or device and no recoveryUnreviewed
20122026- Account recovery's "Try another way" differs from login's, so users get confused2026-09-19
- Users get locked out of accounts after losing their device with no recovery path2026-09-18
- Account is left with no login method except the account recovery procedure2025-12-23
Setting up passkeys is much harder than using them laterUnreviewed
20122026- Logging in with the new method is slow and cumbersome, increasingly frustrating2023-01-19
- Alternative login options are super painful to set up, hard for disabled users2022-05-07
- Setting up the login method is much harder than using it afterward2018-11-05
Each login requires typing email, waiting, then clicking a link or copying codeUnreviewed
20122026- Login takes many steps: username, wait for page, send code, enter code, sometimes another code2024-02-06
- Must type email, wait for email, then click link or copy code each login2022-08-01
- Login requires waiting on and fetching codes from a third-party email account, adding delay2017-06-17
Can't use Firefox Android passkeys to sign in to GitHubUnreviewed
20122026- Some sites force the device password manager instead of the user's own, and GitHub asks for MFA right after passkey login2025-10-29
- GitHub failed to find the user's Android passkey, forcing a workaround2024-04-26
- Can't use Firefox Android passkeys to sign in to GitHub2024-02-16
Passkeys work poorly on Linux and Windows, and Yubikeys failUnreviewed
20122026- Passkeys are painful to use on Linux and Windows, Yubikeys don't work well2026-03-01
- Older Yubikeys fill up after about 25 discoverable passkeys, making them useless2024-08-14
- Login forced passkey authentication on a YubiKey set up only for TOTP, blocking access2024-04-26
Hard to remember which app, extension or account holds the passkeyUnreviewed
20122026- Hard to remember which app, extension or account holds the passkey2026-10-02
- Confusing fragmentation makes users remember which browser or app holds their passkey2026-07-22
- Multiple popups make it unclear which app is handling the passkey2024-10-17
Confusing cloud account error, and passkeys can't be seen or managedUnreviewed
20122026- Enrolment showed failure though passkey was created, so user repeated it and got duplicate passkeys they cannot tell apart2023-12-05
- Error message about other cloud accounts is confusing; can't see or manage individual passkeys2023-10-17
- Passkey messaging is confusing; unclear whether services need multiple public keys per account2023-05-07
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 50 complaints
- Can't export passkeys as plaintext; only limited handoff to approved apps2026-10-15
- Passkeys must be re-added manually for every website on each new device2026-10-15
- Repeatedly nags to create passkeys, then demands an extra PIN, adding things to remember2026-10-15
- Services keep multiple login URLs, so users re-enter passwords on wrong domains2026-10-15
- Confusing to recover access when passkeys don't work; takes time to understand2026-10-15
- Websites that don't allow multiple passkeys make the login setup confusing2026-10-15
- Password manager entries pile up and are hard to find or fix when logging in on mobile2026-10-15
- Moving passkeys to a new phone is complex and confusing, so users fear losing account access2026-10-14
- Passkey system is confusing even for technical people2026-10-14
- Transferring passkeys between password managers is finicky and a hassle2026-10-14
- Passkey sign-in gives no username prompt, so user unknowingly signs into the wrong account2026-10-14
- Commenter calls passkeys a usability disaster without describing a specific problem2026-10-14
- The user experience of passkeys is poor, so the commenter avoids them2026-10-14
- Random save-credential popups feel alarming, and the passkey interface is confusing2026-10-14
- Passkeys cause friction and trouble for elderly relatives, spouses, and backups2026-10-14
- Passkeys get saved to the wrong place, like Chrome's store, causing annoyance2026-10-14
- Can't choose a third-party passkey manager; browsers and OS keep steering to their own, so logins are unreliable2026-10-14
- Adding a second passkey is buried 6 layers deep in settings2026-10-14
- Must use phone to log in on computer, which is frustrating2026-10-14
- Passkey user experience is confusing and hostile to users2026-10-14
- Sites make it hard to sign in another way once passkey is set up2026-10-14
- Passkey saved on iPhone can't be used from desktop browser, causing lockouts2026-10-14
- Passkey setup prompt interrupts login right when user wants to act2026-10-14
- Native iOS passkey setup defaults make it hard to use a LastPass passkey2026-10-14
- Many sites force typing a username before passkey sign-in, unlike smoother flows2026-10-14
- Passkeys default on and expected everywhere, forcing users to remove them from devices2026-10-14
- Chrome offers its own storage first, hiding the option for the user's password manager2026-10-14
- Sites push passkeys with dark patterns and extra clicks before login2026-10-14
- Enrolled passkey on phone but desktop login demanded it with no way to use it2026-10-14
- Passkey sign-in fails across devices, with timeouts and no way to pair phone2026-10-14
- Brokerage rejects user's FIDO2 hardware keys, forcing Windows Hello or iOS Passwords2026-10-12
- People accidentally end up in scenarios where they lose the device holding their passkeys2026-10-12
- Password manager, browser and OS fight to intercept passkey requests, with no way to choose otherwise2026-10-12
- Too many options and hard to implement correctly outside flagship sites2026-10-12
- Every site uses a different login sequence, so passkey sign-in is inconsistent and confusing2026-10-12
- Losing or wiping a phone can lock you out of accounts with no other way in2026-10-12
- Passkeys are confusing for non-technical users2026-10-11
- Must scan a QR code with a phone to use a desktop2026-10-11
- Opt-in is one green button mid-transaction; undoing it requires digging through settings and repeated confirmations2026-10-11
- Opt-out buried in advanced settings or obscure flags, then removed, forcing the feature2026-10-11
- Hard to remember which app, extension or account holds the passkey2026-10-02
- Gets prompted to save a new passkey on every login, even when one exists2026-09-19
- Passkey login flow breaks when signing in on a device the user doesn't own2026-09-19
- Account recovery's "Try another way" differs from login's, so users get confused2026-09-19
- Passkeys cannot be shared like passwords, so family sharing breaks down2026-09-19
- Sites often lack or botch password fallback, so users can get locked out2026-09-18
- Passkey prompts from Chrome, Apple Passwords and 1Password clash, forcing dozens of fumbling retries daily2026-09-18
- Confusing for average users; sites require passkeys alongside other 2FA or login methods2026-09-18
- Users get locked out of email if their passkey device is inaccessible, with no backup recovery2026-09-18
- Passkeys tied to current device make logging in on another device complex and painful2026-09-18