Meta’s new AI app is under fire after users unknowingly shared private chats, including legal queries, personal data and audio clips, on the public web.

The issue lies with a “share” button that appears after each chatbot response. Users can post content without realising it’s publicly visible, especially if logged in via a public Instagram account. Security expert Rachel Tobac called it a “privacy nightmare” after spotting names, addresses and court-related questions shared online.

Some posts appear jokey or attention-seeking, but many involve sensitive or reputationally risky content. One user asked about a rash, another discussed tax evasion, and several uploaded CVs and legal references, seemingly unaware they were going public.

Launched on 29 April, the app has already hit 6.5 million downloads. However, experts say Meta should have anticipated the risks of blending private AI queries with social sharing.

Businesses should avoid using AI tools through personal logins and steer clear of sharing anything sensitive unless privacy settings are crystal clear.

Electric roads that wirelessly charge vehicles as they drive are now moving beyond demonstration and into real-world use, offering a glimpse of a transport future with fewer cables, faster charging, and lighter electric vehicles.

Global Trials Are Shaping the Next Phase of EV Infrastructure

Mainly based in the US at present, from city buses in California to delivery vans in Detroit and with motorway freight trials in Europe, it looks as though the rollout of wireless charging roads is picking up pace. This means that the technology is no longer confined to lab tests or closed tracks but is now actually being trialled on public roads, backed by major vehicle manufacturers and public infrastructure funds. For UK businesses and councils planning for large-scale EV adoption, the rapid global progress could offer valuable lessons, and a possible roadmap for future deployment.

Momentum

Electreon, the Israeli firm behind many of these pilots, says the momentum is beginning to shift. “We’re excited to demonstrate how Electreon’s technology can optimise electric fleet usage,” said Stefan Tongur, Vice President of Business Development. “This is about minimising downtime and enabling charging across time and location.”

How Do Wireless Electric Roads Work?

Wireless electric roads use inductive charging which is the same basic technology behind cordless phone chargers. Coils are embedded just below the road surface and connected to the electricity grid. When an electric vehicle with the right equipment passes over them, energy is transferred via a magnetic field to the vehicle’s battery.

The road segments activate only when authorised vehicles are detected, making the system both energy-efficient and safe. For this system to work, vehicles need a receiver mounted underneath to benefit from the charging. Power is managed in real time via a cloud-based platform that adjusts energy flow, tracks vehicle usage and allows for remote diagnostics.

Why This Could Help the Shift to EVs

For many drivers, range anxiety and charging delays are still barriers to switching to electric vehicles. The big plus point about wireless charging roads is that they offer a way to charge en route, thereby potentially removing the need for large battery packs and long charging stops.

For example, a delivery van or taxi could gain a top-up charge while waiting at traffic lights, at taxi ranks, or while driving between stops. This not only cuts downtime but could allow vehicle manufacturers to reduce battery size, lowering both emissions and cost.

Also, by flattening peak demand on the electricity grid and spreading charging throughout the day, the system could also support wider grid resilience. For countries like the UK, where both EV uptake and grid demand are rising sharply, this aspect has particular relevance.

Projects Taking Shape Around the World

Several real-world projects are already showing how the technology works.

In Detroit, Michigan, a quarter-mile stretch of 14th Street became the first public wireless charging road in the US. It’s now being expanded with support from the Michigan Department of Transportation and industry partners including Ford and UPS. The site also supports wireless overnight charging at a UPS depot, demonstrating how dynamic and static charging can work together.

In California, UCLA is deploying the same technology to electrify its BruinBus fleet ahead of the 2028 Olympics. Wireless charging coils are being embedded along a key campus route and at a new transit hub shared with other operators.

In Europe, Sweden, France and Germany are leading efforts. A 2 km test route on France’s A10 motorway is due to support up to 200 kW of charging for trucks. Sweden’s longer-term national ambitions have been scaled back due to cost, but smaller pilots continue, such as a 1.65 km stretch on Gotland. Germany is evaluating inductive charging alongside overhead cable systems on its Autobahn network.

Could This Work in the UK?

While the UK is not currently hosting any wireless electric road pilots, the concept has started to gain attention among infrastructure planners and local authorities. As the government aims to end the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2035, new approaches to charging infrastructure are being explored.

Back in 2015, the UK Department for Transport signalled early interest in the concept. “The potential to recharge low emission vehicles on the move offers exciting possibilities,” said then-Transport Minister Andrew Jones. “The government is already committing £500 million over the next five years to keep Britain at the forefront of this technology.”

Wireless roads could actually prove particularly relevant for UK cities with high taxi, bus and delivery van traffic. For example, wireless coils at taxi ranks outside Heathrow or in central London could support low-emissions targets while reducing visual clutter from charge points.

There may also be opportunities to integrate the technology into depot environments or council-run fleet hubs, such as bin lorry depots or local bus garages, where predictable daily routes and return-to-base schedules make charging efficiency critical.

For rural businesses operating in harder-to-reach locations, dynamic charging roads along key A-roads could one day reduce reliance on sparse rapid chargers. Although costs remain a barrier, strategic deployment in the UK’s most used corridors could be a viable starting point.

Who’s Leading the Charge?

The leading technology developer in this space is Electreon, an Israeli firm with active trials in the US, Germany, France, Italy, Norway and Israel. The company has built partnerships with major automakers including Toyota, Ford, BMW and Stellantis, and is now working on both aftermarket retrofit kits and built-in vehicle charging systems.

Electreon also provides what it calls Charging-as-a-Service, allowing fleet operators to pay a subscription rather than build and own the infrastructure. This could become an attractive model for UK bus companies or logistics firms looking to upgrade to electric without massive capital expenditure.

According to Electreon, the system is designed to integrate smoothly into daily fleet operations. “Our wireless charging solution enables vehicles to charge throughout the operational day, minimising downtime and reducing the need for large battery packs,” said Stefan Tongur, the company’s Vice President of Business Development.

Other players include Hevo Power and Witricity, both of which are working on wireless charging hardware and standards. SAE’s J2954 standard (and the upcoming J2954/2 for trucks) is helping to create consistency across vehicle manufacturers and infrastructure developers.

Benefits for Fleets, Cities and the Environment

Wireless charging is best suited to vehicles with regular, predictable routes e.g., city buses, last-mile delivery vans, taxis, or refuse trucks. These are also the vehicle types that make up a large portion of urban emissions.

For example, by enabling smaller batteries and constant top-up charging, electric bin lorries in London or Manchester could stay on the road longer without needing depot downtime. This helps both emissions goals and operational efficiency.

In logistics, charging vehicles while they load or unload could reduce idle time. In public transport, bus services could stay electric and reliable even in areas without large depot charging capacity.

On a broader scale, widespread wireless infrastructure could enable manufacturers to offer lighter, more efficient EVs at lower cost, thereby removing another barrier to adoption.

What’s Holding the Technology Back?

Despite the enthusiasm, wireless roads are expensive to build. In Detroit, for example, costs have been reported at nearly $2 million per mile. Indiana’s high-power truck corridor is costing around $11 million per quarter-mile.

Installation can also raise maintenance challenges. In-road coils may affect road resurfacing schedules, and some test sites have seen overheating or pavement cracking under certain traffic loads.

Vehicle compatibility is another hurdle. For example, most EVs on the road today do not support wireless charging, and while retrofitting is possible, it adds complexity and cost. Until OEMs begin including wireless receivers as standard, usage will remain limited.

There are also practical constraints on where the technology should be deployed. For example, experts agree that not every road needs to be electrified and targeted placement along high-use routes or fleet corridors currently is seen as the most efficient approach.

Still Niche, But Moving Fast

Wireless electric roads are not about replacing every plug-in charger. Instead, they represent a smart, strategic solution for the vehicles and locations that need it most. With UK councils under pressure to cut fleet emissions, and operators seeking more efficient ways to electrify, this evolving technology could soon be part of the answer.

What Does This Mean For Your Organisation?

At the moment, it looks as though wireless charging roads are unlikely to become the default for every vehicle or every mile of tarmac, but the idea offers an opportunity to improve the way key vehicles are powered and operated. For example, for commercial fleets, delivery vans, buses and urban taxis, the ability to charge without stopping could drive real gains in efficiency, availability and emissions reduction. These are use cases where the business model already makes sense and the benefits are most immediate.

For UK businesses, particularly those with depot-based or high-frequency urban fleets, this could offer a way to cut costs without investing in large-scale grid upgrades or building out conventional charging infrastructure. The reduced need for larger batteries may also help ease supply chain pressures and allow for lighter, cheaper vehicles that are better suited to city environments. In areas where charging infrastructure is hard to install or already oversubscribed, such as busy city centres or constrained industrial estates, wireless charging could prove especially useful.

The same applies to public sector stakeholders. Local authorities managing refuse trucks, park maintenance fleets or public transport services could use this technology to meet emissions targets more easily while streamlining day-to-day operations. Where councils are upgrading road surfaces or building new transit infrastructure, wireless charging could be built in from the start.

For now, however, the barriers are still significant. Cost, standardisation and vehicle compatibility continue to limit broader rollout. That said, progress is clearly accelerating. As vehicle manufacturers begin to integrate wireless receivers as standard, and more cities commit to zero-emissions transport goals, the conditions for uptake will become increasingly favourable. While not a silver bullet, wireless charging roads are emerging as a credible and focused part of the wider shift towards sustainable transport.

ChatGPT’s ‘Projects’ make life a lot more organised, when it comes using their platform. Doubtless with this in mind, OpenAI have added four powerful new features which we explore in this episode.

[Note – To Watch This Video without glitches/interruptions, It may be best to download it first]

Need to send a sensitive email that shouldn’t stick around or be shared? Gmail’s Confidential Mode lets your message self-destruct after a set time, blocks forwarding, copying, downloading and printing, and adds optional passcode protection.

How to:

– In Gmail, click Compose.
– Tap the lock with a clock icon at the bottom of the compose window.
– Choose an expiry date (from 1 day up to 5 years).
– Select SMS passcode if you want to add verification.
– Click Save, then write and send your email.

What it’s for:

Use this when emailing things like passwords, financial details, legal documents or quotes — anything that shouldn’t be saved or shared. The expiry ensures your message won’t linger indefinitely, and the recipient can’t easily forward or download it.

Pro-Tip: Add an expiry reminder in the subject line (e.g. “Expires in 7 days”) — and remember recipients can still screenshot the content, so it’s best for lower-sensitivity communications.

ChatGPT now includes meeting recording, cloud integration and deep research tools, marking its biggest push yet into everyday business workflows.

Featured For Everyday Business Use

With over 3 million enterprise-focused customers now using ChatGPT (up from 2 million earlier this year), OpenAI appears intent on securing its place in the core workflow of modern businesses. With this in mind, OpenAI has released some new business-focused features for ChatGPT which are designed to embed ChatGPT more deeply into the kinds of platforms, files, and meetings professionals already depend on.

Update

The latest ChatGPT feature update, designed specifically for paid users across business and education plans, introduces three key capabilities that shift ChatGPT from a smart chatbot to a practical everyday work assistant. These are:

1. Cloud connectors, which let users query documents in platforms like Google Drive or SharePoint.

2. Meeting recording and transcription, available directly inside the ChatGPT (macOS) app.

3. Deep research tools that aggregate and cite information from a variety of business apps and data sources.

It seems that each one has been designed with a view to reducing friction, eliminating app-switching, and (hopefully) helping users access, understand and act upon information more efficiently.

Search Across Your Own Files With Cloud Connectors

One of the most immediately useful additions, ‘Cloud connectors’, means users can connect ChatGPT to leading cloud services. Supported platforms include Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, Microsoft SharePoint, Dropbox, and Box.

Once connected, for example, ChatGPT can access stored files like PDFs, Word documents, presentations and spreadsheets, and use that content to respond to user queries. The functionality supports both simple search (“Find last week’s planning document”) and more complex analysis (“Summarise our Q2 sales figures from uploaded reports”).

The connectors operate with full respect for organisational access permissions, i.e. only content which the user is allowed to access is returned, and all files are previewed directly inside the chat for faster referencing.

Who Can Use it?

Cloud connectors are available to Team, Enterprise, and Edu users globally. Pro and Plus users can access them too, except in the UK, Switzerland and the European Economic Area, where availability is restricted for now due to data privacy regulations.

Meeting Recording Giving Structured Notes from Live Conversations

ChatGPT now also includes ‘Record Mode’, the ability to record and transcribe meetings or voice notes, a feature available through its macOS desktop app for Team users. The tool turns spoken content into structured, searchable summaries, all complete with key points, time-stamped citations, and suggested action items.

How?

After a recording is made, the output is saved as a canvas document, which can then be edited, expanded, or turned into emails, project plans or even code. It also becomes part of the user’s searchable knowledge base within ChatGPT.

For example, a team lead could ask: “What did we agree during Monday’s planning meeting?”

ChatGPT would respond with a time-stamped summary pulled from the transcript, thereby saving the need to rewatch the recording or chase colleagues for notes.

Limitations and Availability

Record Mode is only available to users on Team plans using the macOS desktop app. OpenAI says recording sessions can be up to two hours long, and transcripts follow the workspace’s retention policies. Rollout to Enterprise and Edu users is planned, but there’s currently no browser-based option, and speaker diarisation (i.e. who said what) is not yet supported.

Deep Research Connectors For Insights Across Apps

The new ‘Deep Research’ mode allows ChatGPT to produce detailed, cited outputs by pulling together information from internal tools, cloud documents and the web. For example, rather than simply responding to queries in chat, this mode builds more structured research reports that are tailored to a given task.

Supported connectors include:

– GitHub and Linear (engineering and development).

– HubSpot (CRM and marketing).

– Google Drive, Gmail and Calendar.

– Microsoft Outlook, SharePoint, Teams and OneDrive.

Typical use cases could include reviewing recent project work, summarising customer conversations, or combining internal product documents with external market insights.

Users can even export the result as a professionally formatted PDF, with tables, links and citations included.

Who Gets Access?

Deep Research is available to Pro, Plus, Team, Enterprise and Edu users, excluding the UK, EEA and Switzerland. There’s no Free tier access, and setup varies by platform, but some connectors may require authentication, while others are pre-approved by admins.

Model Context Protocol (MCP)

For businesses with custom internal systems or industry-specific data, OpenAI now supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP). This allows technical teams to build their own connectors that link ChatGPT to virtually any structured data source.

For example, these custom connectors can retrieve internal information, such as customer records, billing data or support tickets, and allow ChatGPT to query it as part of a deep research task. The results are combined with public data and other connected apps to create cohesive reports.

Access and Setup

It should be noted that MCP is only available for Pro, Team, Enterprise and Edu customers. Admins are responsible for deploying MCP connectors via a remote server. Once approved, they become available across the entire workspace.

This feature may be particularly useful for large organisations looking to integrate ChatGPT into existing business intelligence systems or build AI-powered internal knowledge tools.

Practical Use Examples

Some examples of how these features could be used to support everyday business tasks include:

– A sales manager using HubSpot data to analyse deal close rates across regions.

– A product owner recording a team call and using ChatGPT to generate a roadmap summary.

– An analyst asking ChatGPT to pull data from Dropbox and Google Drive to create a performance report.

– A developer linking GitHub to summarise pull requests or past sprint changes.

In each case, using these new features, ChatGPT can act as a kind of AI research assistant that’s able to pull from multiple sources, remember context, and suggest outputs tailored to the task.

What About Security, Privacy and Control?

With these new features, it seems that OpenAI has taken some steps to address enterprise concerns around data usage and privacy. For example, OpenAI is keen to point out that:

– Data from connectors and Record Mode is not used to train models for Team, Enterprise and Edu users.

– Audio recordings are deleted immediately after transcription.

– All connector access is opt-in and user-authenticated, and connectors only search files that users have permission to view.

– Admins can restrict or disable access to specific tools through workspace settings.

However, for users on the Free, Plus or Pro plans, OpenAI may use data from connectors to train its models if the “Improve the model for everyone” setting is enabled. Businesses on these plans may need to check this setting to ensure it aligns with their data policies.

A Step Ahead of the Competition?

This move from OpenAI looks like positioning ChatGPT as a serious contender in the growing race for AI-powered productivity. While Microsoft’s Copilot and Google’s Gemini already integrate tightly with their own ecosystems, ChatGPT offers something different: broad compatibility with multiple tools, deep natural language understanding, and cross-platform flexibility.

Smaller players like Notion, ClickUp and Zoom have also added AI-powered summaries or transcription features in recent months but it seems that OpenAI’s latest update offers a more expansive set of capabilities in one interface, provided companies are willing to integrate their workflows.

There are also signs that OpenAI may expand these features further. For example, the company’s documentation notes that more connectors are in development, and that browser support for Record Mode and broader language transcription are both on the roadmap.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

It looks as though businesses currently using ChatGPT on a Team or Enterprise plan could stand to gain some immediate, practical benefits from this update. For example, being able to search internal documents, capture meetings with actionable summaries, and generate reports from connected tools could help teams cut down on duplication, reduce time spent switching between apps, and improve the speed and quality of decisions. For knowledge-heavy sectors such as finance, legal services, software development or consultancy, these tools offer a way to bring routine research and documentation tasks under one roof.

However, the regional limitations are hard to ignore. For example, it seems that businesses in the UK, the EEA and Switzerland on Pro and Plus plans are currently excluded from using many of the new connectors and deep research features. While this is due to data privacy rules, it still creates inconsistency for organisations with teams in multiple countries, and may affect uptake in regulated industries unless a clearer roadmap for availability is published.

For others in the AI productivity space, the implications are also significant. For example, OpenAI’s approach of building connections into widely used tools like Google Drive, Outlook and HubSpot allows ChatGPT to operate more flexibly across mixed tech environments than many rivals. Microsoft and Google still have the advantage of full-stack integration, but this update increases the pressure on them to improve openness and compatibility. Smaller platforms like Notion, Zoom and ClickUp, which have been quick to adopt AI features, may struggle to match the breadth of this offering unless they build similar connector frameworks.

It seems, therefore, that what happens next may come down to usability and trust. If OpenAI can make these features accessible without excessive setup, and if organisations are confident in the way their data is handled, ChatGPT could become far more than a clever chatbot. It could start to take on the role of an always-available assistant and, crucially, one that understands the context, connects the dots, and can work quietly behind the scenes to keep teams informed, aligned and productive.

Microsoft is warning users that saved passwords will soon be deleted from its Authenticator app, as it phases out the feature in favour of Edge and passkeys.

Major Changes Coming to Microsoft Authenticator

Millions of Microsoft users are being urged to take action ahead of a planned overhaul to the Microsoft Authenticator app. Microsoft says that from August 2025, the app will no longer store or provide access to saved passwords. The change is apparently part of Microsoft’s wider push towards a passwordless future and will directly impact individuals and businesses who rely on Authenticator to manage credentials.

The phased retirement of password and autofill functionality in the app begins this month (June 2025) and ends with permanent deletion in August.

Improved Security and Streamlining

Microsoft says the move is intended to improve account security and streamline its identity tools, but critics have raised concerns about user disruption and the company’s growing dependence on its Edge browser.

What Exactly Is Happening And When?

According to Microsoft’s official support documentation, the changes will roll out in three key stages:

– From June 2025, users will no longer be able to add or import new passwords into the Authenticator app. The app will still autofill existing saved passwords for a short time.

– During July 2025, the autofill feature will be fully disabled, and any stored payment information will be deleted from user devices.

– From August 2025, all previously saved passwords will be permanently inaccessible in the Authenticator app. Any passwords generated through the app but not saved will also be lost.

Microsoft is, therefore, urging users to export their passwords before the August deadline or risk losing them permanently.

Microsoft’s Password Problem

At the heart of the decision is the fundamental issue that passwords are no longer seen as being secure. For example, Microsoft’s internal data suggests the scale of the threat has worsened. In a blog post published last December, the company said it was blocking an average of 7,000 password attacks per second, nearly double the rate from the previous year. Phishing campaigns, brute-force attacks, and credential stuffing continue to rise.

As the blog noted, “Bad actors know [passwords are dying], which is why they’re desperately accelerating password-related attacks while they still can.”

It should be noted here that Microsoft is not alone in this assessment. For example, data from the FIDO Alliance shows that over 35 per cent of people have had at least one online account compromised due to password vulnerabilities. Meanwhile, 54 per cent of those familiar with passkeys say they’re more convenient than passwords, and 53 per cent say they’re more secure.

It seems that Microsoft sees this moment as an opportunity to transition users to more modern authentication methods, particularly passkeys, i.e. credentials tied to biometric data like fingerprints or facial recognition, which are less vulnerable to traditional forms of hacking.

A Nudge Towards Microsoft Edge

In practical terms, Microsoft is also consolidating its password management services under its Edge browser. Users who still want Microsoft to handle their credentials are being directed to switch to Edge, where passwords, addresses, and other autofill data can be securely stored in their Microsoft account.

A new splash screen in the Authenticator app now encourages users to “Turn on Edge” for this purpose. Microsoft notes that passwords are synced with the user’s Microsoft account and can be accessed by signing into Edge, where they are stored under Settings > Passwords.

This change isn’t just about security. It’s clear that this move is also designed to help strengthen Microsoft’s long-standing campaign to increase adoption of its browser. As part of this push, password autofill services are no longer available through Authenticator in Chrome, Safari, or other third-party browsers. Users who don’t want to use Edge are advised to export their passwords and switch to an alternative password manager such as Google Password Manager or iCloud Keychain.

What About Passkeys and 2FA?

Although password storage is being removed, the Microsoft Authenticator app itself isn’t going anywhere. It will continue to support two-factor authentication (2FA), including time-based one-time passwords (TOTP) and biometric logins.

More importantly, Authenticator will remain central to Microsoft’s passkey system. If users have already enabled passkeys for their Microsoft account, they must keep Authenticator enabled as their designated passkey provider. Disabling the app may break access to those accounts.

Passkeys “Superior”

Microsoft says passkeys offer a “superior user experience” by enabling faster logins that are resistant to phishing and replay attacks. But the technology is still in early stages, and many websites and systems, especially in the enterprise world, have yet to adopt it widely.

What Users Need To Do

For individual users, the priority is clear, i.e. export any saved passwords from Authenticator before 1 August 2025. Microsoft warns that any unsaved credentials will be lost, and payment details stored in the app will be deleted by July.

To keep using Microsoft’s ecosystem, users can set Microsoft Edge as their autofill provider on iOS or Android. Those wanting to move to a different platform must export their credentials, then import them into the new tool.

More Complex For Business Users

However, as may be expected, it seems that business users, especially those in IT administration roles, face more complexity. This is because many organisations use Authenticator not only for employee 2FA, but also as a password vault for accessing internal systems and client accounts. The removal of this functionality could lead to operational disruption if not properly managed.

Enterprises will, therefore, need to review whether Edge is suitable across their environments, or whether to transition to third-party tools like Keeper, 1Password, LastPass, or Bitwarden, and others, many of which offer team vaults and admin controls.

Microsoft has published step-by-step guides for exporting credentials from the app and importing them into Edge. However, the company also warns that when exporting passwords, they are no longer encrypted in transit. Users must delete the exported file immediately after import to avoid exposing sensitive information.

Criticism and Concerns

Despite the security rationale given by Microsoft, the move hasn’t gone without criticism. For example, some users see it as an aggressive tactic to push people towards Microsoft Edge. Others are concerned about losing the flexibility that came with Authenticator’s cross-browser compatibility.

The change also comes at a time when Microsoft has faced growing scrutiny over its handling of security. Recent phishing campaigns targeting Microsoft accounts have used Google Apps Script to host realistic-looking fake login pages, tricking users into entering credentials. By removing password storage and advocating for passkeys, Microsoft is positioning itself as proactive, but some argue the change is reactive to recent threats.

Also, many IT professionals, including managed service providers (MSPs), have expressed reservations about using browsers to store sensitive information such as passwords. While Microsoft maintains that Edge is a secure, enterprise-grade browser with built-in defences like Defender SmartScreen and Password Monitor, it remains the case that most security-conscious businesses recommend dedicated password managers instead.

Some MSPs, for example, point users towards platforms like Keeper, which offer stronger access control, audit trails, and encryption options tailored for business environments. Even mainstream alternatives like LastPass (once widely used) have lost trust following a high-profile security breach in 2022, which saw attackers steal encrypted vault data. This has left many in the industry sceptical of relying solely on browser-integrated tools for credential storage.

As a result, it seems that IT teams now face a more difficult decision. Microsoft’s advice to migrate to Edge may be convenient, but it is unlikely to satisfy organisations with strict compliance policies, high-value systems, or users working across multiple platforms. For many, this change serves as a prompt to reassess their overall password and identity management strategy—and not simply swap one tool for another.

Also, it should be noted that, quite simply, not all users or organisations are ready for a passwordless future. Adoption of passkeys remains patchy, and migrating authentication systems requires time, budget, and user training. For small businesses or non-technical users, these changes may be frustratingly complex.

Microsoft appears to be aware of these challenges but remains committed to the transition. As the company put it, “The password era is ending”—and with password-based attacks continuing to rise, the shift may be less about convenience and more about survival.

What Does This Mean For Your Business?

The next few months may be critical for users and organisations who rely on Microsoft Authenticator for password storage. While the company has made its intentions clear and set out a defined timeline, the practical implications are not quite so straightforward. Users will need to act quickly to export their credentials, and those choosing to remain within Microsoft’s ecosystem will need to familiarise themselves with Edge’s autofill features. For many, this will simply be a matter of adjustment. However, for others, particularly in business environments where systems, devices and browsers vary, the change raises more complex operational and security considerations.

For businesses, the impact could be significant. Many will now be forced to re-evaluate how they manage shared logins, administrative access and compliance-sensitive credentials. Microsoft’s preference for its own browser may not align with existing IT policies, particularly in organisations where Chrome or Safari is the standard. Also, while Microsoft promotes Edge as a secure alternative, longstanding guidance from many managed service providers in the UK still discourages storing passwords in any browser. Instead, tools like Keeper (there are other tools), favoured by many MSPs for their advanced controls and business-grade encryption, are often recommended as more robust alternatives.

At the same time, Microsoft’s strategy seems to reflect a wider shift that is now shaping the security landscape. Passwords have long been a weak point, and with attack volumes rising year on year, the company’s decision to pivot towards passkeys is consistent with broader industry trends. However, the reality is that many businesses, especially smaller ones, are not yet equipped to make this leap. Compatibility gaps, legacy systems, and limited resources all present barriers to adoption. Without careful planning and communication, the risk is that essential authentication processes could be disrupted or improperly migrated.

What’s clear in all this is that Microsoft is pushing ahead regardless. By retiring password storage from Authenticator and tying remaining functionality to Edge and passkeys, the company is accelerating a shift that many see as inevitable. Whether this benefits users in the short term may depend less on Microsoft’s vision and more on how quickly organisations can respond, adapt and put the right alternatives in place. For now, IT teams will need to weigh the convenience of Microsoft’s path against the operational demands and risks that come with changing how people log in.