Microsoft lets Windows 10 users remove password as login method

Windows 10 users will be given the choice next year to only log in to their system via Windows Hello or pin and no longer with a password. The option to enter a password no longer appears in the login options.

After an update next year, the option ‘Make your device passwordless’ will appear in the Windows 10 login settings, Microsoft reports. Activating this removes the option to login with passwords. Windows 10 users who now log in via a PIN code or face or fingerprint scan via Hello can still fall back on a password if they want to log in to the OS.

Microsoft is currently testing the feature with build version 18936 of Windows 10 Insider Preview 20H1, which is slated for release in the first half of next year. Microsoft has long emphasized the benefits of biometric Hello authentication and the use of a PIN. Passwords for Microsoft accounts can be intercepted or stolen online while the PIN is tied to a device and stored encrypted on a TPM chip. Microsoft recently added Microsoft account login using Hello or a FIDO2 hardware key.