What is a passkey?
A passkey is a secure way to confirm it's you when you approve a swap or a withdrawal. Instead of waiting for an SMS code, you unlock the request with your face, fingerprint, device PIN or a hardware security key.
Passkeys are:
Faster — approve in seconds, with no code to wait for or type in.
More secure — passkeys are phishing-resistant. They can't be guessed, reused or intercepted.
Available across your devices — if your password manager syncs your passkey, you can use it anywhere you're signed in to that manager.
Why are passkeys safer than SMS codes?
A passkey has two parts: a public key that Bringin stores, and a private key held by your password manager — Apple iCloud, Google Password Manager, 1Password, or whichever you use. When you approve something, your password manager proves the two match. All you do is unlock it with your face, fingerprint or device PIN.
Bringin never sees your private key, and it isn't sent anywhere when you approve a transaction. There's nothing for anyone to phish, and nothing to intercept the way an SMS code can be.
What you can use a passkey for
Once you've set one up, your passkey is used to approve:
Bitcoin ↔ EUR swaps
Withdrawals
Other sensitive account actions
A passkey doesn't replace:
Your login. You still sign in to Bringin the same way as before.
Card payment confirmations. Payments with your Bringin card are still confirmed the usual way.
Your Bitcoin wallet backup. Your recovery phrase is what protects your wallet — a passkey can't recover it.
Where passkeys are stored
Passkeys are usually stored in your password manager — Apple iCloud, Google Password Manager or 1Password, for example. These sync your passkey across devices, so you can use it on any device connected to that manager.
You can have one passkey per Bringin account, so it's worth storing it somewhere that syncs across your devices.
Setting up a passkey
You can set up a passkey in the Bringin app or on the web.
Go to Profile
Select Login & security
Select Two-factor authentication
Select Passkey
Confirm it's you with your current verification method
Follow the prompts from your device or browser to finish
Once it's set up, your passkey becomes your default way to approve swaps and withdrawals.
Approving with a passkey
When you make a swap or a withdrawal, you'll be asked to confirm with your passkey. Use your face, fingerprint or device PIN, and the transaction goes through.
Using SMS or an authenticator app instead
Bringin supports three verification methods: passkey, authenticator app (TOTP) and SMS.
If you've set up a passkey, we'll ask for it first. You can still switch to SMS at any time — just choose the other option on the confirmation screen.
Removing or replacing a passkey
Because you can only have one passkey per account, replacing it means removing the old one first.
Go to Profile → Login & security → Two-factor authentication
Disable Passkey
After that, swaps and withdrawals go back to SMS or your authenticator app until you set up a new passkey.
If your passkey isn't working
Check your device and browser are up to date.
Make sure you're signed in to the password manager holding your passkey.
If it still won't work, switch to SMS or your authenticator app to approve the transaction.
Still stuck? Message us from the app and we'll help.