Apple allows certain users to log in to the iCloud website using biometric techniques. As the website 9to5Mac reports, users of the current beta versions can identify themselves under beta.icloud.com with a face scan (Face ID) or a fingerprint (Touch ID); a password does not have to be entered anymore. This works without Webauthn. The password-free login and two-factor authentication standard must first be enabled in the browser’s experimental settings.

The password-free login with the Apple ID should work for all users who have the current beta version of iOS 13, iPad OS or MacOS Catalina loaded on their devices. Based on an iPad Pro with the beta version of iPad OS, Apple’s new, better tablet tailored iOS, we can already try this: When we call the iCloud website, we are asked if we want to log in with Face ID.

This works with both Safari and Google’s Chrome browser. If we click on “Next” , our face will be recognized and the homepage of iCloud will be called up. On the other hand, with an iPhone running the current version of iOS 12, we will not get any biometric identification options. Of course, on systems that do not have a fingerprint sensor, the system does not work.

In the experimental settings of Safari, Webauthn can already be activated. On the test website Webauthn.io it was recognized that Safari supports the Webauthn – but we could not register and register in a test yet. On Android we could already use Webauthn as a second factor on Dropbox. However, we were unable to sign up for Android on Android. Besides Android, Windows Hello also offers the password-free login function.