Email Magic Links and Passkeys are Okta’s answer to passwordless authentication, and they fundamentally change how users interact with your applications by eliminating the need to remember and type passwords.
Let’s see them in action. Imagine a user trying to log into a hypothetical acmecorp.com application.
First, the user enters their email address on the login screen.
User enters: user@acmecorp.com
Instead of a password prompt, Okta sends an email to user@acmecorp.com containing a time-sensitive, single-use URL.
<!-- Example Magic Link Email Content -->
<html>
<body>
<p>Click the link below to log in to AcmeCorp:</p>
<a href="https://acmecorp.okta.com/login/magic-link?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiI...&redirect_uri=https://acmecorp.com/callback">Sign In</a>
<p>This link expires in 15 minutes.</p>
</body>
</html>
When the user clicks this link, their browser is directed to Okta. Okta validates the token, authenticates the user, and redirects them back to the acmecorp.com application, now logged in.
For Passkeys, the experience is even more seamless. On the login screen, after entering their email, the user is prompted to use their registered Passkey.
User enters: user@acmecorp.com
Okta prompts: "Use your Passkey to sign in"
The browser then invokes the WebAuthn API, and the user authenticates using their device’s built-in security – a fingerprint scan, facial recognition, or a PIN.
<!-- Browser initiates WebAuthn flow -->
navigator.credentials.get({
publicKey: {
challenge: '...', // Okta-generated challenge
rpId: 'acmecorp.com',
userVerification: 'required'
}
})
Once authenticated by the device, the Passkey authenticates the user to Okta, which then redirects them to the acmecorp.com application.
The core problem these solutions solve is the inherent insecurity and user friction associated with traditional passwords. Passwords are forgotten, reused across multiple sites (leading to credential stuffing attacks), and are susceptible to phishing. Magic Links and Passkeys shift authentication from something you know (a password) to something you have (your email account access or your device).
Internally, both leverage Okta’s Identity Engine. For Magic Links, Okta generates a signed JWT (JSON Web Token) containing the user’s identifier and an expiration timestamp. This token is embedded in the URL. When clicked, Okta’s authentication service verifies the token’s signature against its private key and checks its validity. If valid, it issues an authentication session for the user to the relying party (your application).
Passkeys operate on the FIDO Alliance’s WebAuthn standard, which uses public-key cryptography. When a user registers a Passkey, Okta generates a unique public/private key pair for that user and that specific application. The public key is stored by Okta, and the private key is securely stored on the user’s device (e.g., in the Secure Enclave on an iPhone or TPM on a laptop). During login, Okta sends a random challenge to the browser. The browser, using the WebAuthn API, asks the device to sign this challenge with the private key associated with the user and application. The signed challenge is sent back to Okta, which verifies it using the stored public key. This cryptographically proves the user possesses the private key without ever transmitting it, and crucially, the private key never leaves the user’s device.
The "magic" in Magic Links isn’t some arcane technology; it’s the secure, temporary, and single-use nature of the token. The link itself is just a vehicle. Okta’s backend does the heavy lifting of validating its authenticity and expiry. For Passkeys, the real power lies in the decentralized nature of the private key and the strong cryptographic proof it provides. It’s not about Okta trusting your device; it’s about the cryptographic proof generated by your device that Okta can verify.
While Magic Links offer a passwordless experience, they still rely on access to the user’s email account. If that account is compromised, an attacker could potentially intercept Magic Links. Passkeys, by binding to a specific device and using biometrics or device PINs for authorization, offer a significantly higher level of security against phishing and account takeover. The underlying cryptographic operations for Passkeys are performed by the operating system’s secure hardware, making them highly resistant to software-based attacks.
The next step in this journey is understanding how to configure these sign-in methods within Okta’s Identity Engine, specifically how to enable them for specific applications and user groups, and how to manage the lifecycle of registered Passkeys.