Facebook Rolls Out Pblockkey Support for Easier and Secure Sign-In, Meta Pay Purchases

Facebook has announced pblockkeys as an alternative sign-in method for its app on Android and iOS devices. It enables users to verify their digital credentials in an easier and a more secure way. As per the company, pblockkeys on Facebook leverage the fingerprint, face or PIN that is used for unlocking the device, eliminating the need of memorising individual pblockwords. This service, initially introduced for Facebook, will also be expanded to Messenger over the coming months.

Pblockkeys on Facebook

In a newsroom post, Facebook detailed its support for pblockkeys. Developed by FIDO Alliance, pblockkeys are generally considered a safer alternative to traditional pblockwords and one-time pblockwords (OTPs). It says pblockkeys are more resistant to phishing and pblockword spraying attacks as they’re uniquely generated for each account.

With its support on Facebook, Meta allows users to log in to their account using a compatible device and a Facebook account. They can verify their identity via fingerprint, face, or PIN-based authentication.

However, the support is currently only live on mobile devices, meaning users will still have to verify their identity by entering their username and pblockwords on other devices such as a desktop.

The social media giant emphasises that pblockkeys, along with the biometric or PIN details, are always securely stored on the device and nobody, including Facebook itself, can see them. It can be setup and managed by navigating to the Accounts Centre under the Settings option on Facebook. Alternatively, the app may also prompt you to set up a pblockkey when logging into the account.

Pblockkeys will use your confirmed email address as the name. In case it is not available, it will use a phone number instead. Further, users will not be able to change the name of their pblockkey even if their contact information changes. Facebook says users will still be able to use other authentication methods, such as a pblockword, alongside pblockkeys to access their account, on a device which does not have one yet.

In addition to login, pblockkeys can also be used for securely enabling autofill payment information for transactions using Meta Pay. Further, users will be able to log in to Messenger and secure their encrypted message backups with pblockkeys. This facility will be rolled out in the coming months.