The private key stays protected
Your device, password manager, or security key holds the private part. A service receives only data it can use to verify a sign-in.
Understand sign-ins
Passkey Compass
Find out whether a passkey makes sense for your next sign-in — without jargon or test data.
Your situation
Recommendation
Check the account settings first
Look for Passkey, security key, or sign-in method in the service. Until then, a unique long password with multi-factor authentication remains the right foundation.
- Look for a passkey option in the security settings.
- Keep existing recovery codes in a safe place.
- Use a unique password from the generator or password manager for this service.
Three essential basics
A passkey belongs to a domain
A passkey created for pwgen.de cannot test another website. Every application needs its own relying-party domain.
Account recovery still matters
Plan for device changes, lost security keys, and account recovery. Keep each service's recovery options safe.
What happens technically
Passkeys are built on WebAuthn: the service issues a challenge, your device signs it with the private key, and only the signature and the public key travel back. pwgen.de deliberately offers no test sign-in — no accounts are created here and no credentials are stored.
Frequently asked questions
What is a passkey?
A key pair following the WebAuthn standard. The private part stays on your device, in your password manager or on a security key; the service only ever receives the public part and uses it to verify your sign-in. No secret that could be intercepted or guessed is ever transmitted.
Does a passkey replace my password?
At the service in question it can take over sign-in completely. The account still has recovery paths, though — a registered email address, recovery codes, sometimes a password that remains valid. From then on those are the weakest point and need securing.
What happens if I lose my device?
It depends on where the passkey lives. Platform and password-manager passkeys are usually synchronised across your devices. If it only exists on one device or a security key, you need a second passkey set up in advance, or the service's recovery options.
Can I try a passkey here?
No, and that is deliberate. A passkey is only valid for the domain it was created on, so a test passkey for pwgen.de would not work with any other service. On top of that, pwgen.de creates no accounts and stores no credentials.