How to Secure Your Seller Central Account With Passkeys
A Seller Central account holds your listings, your inventory, your payouts and your customer data. If someone else gets into it, they can change your bank details, hijack listings or trigger policy violations that put the whole account at risk. Most account takeovers start with a stolen or reused password. Passkeys, now available for Seller Central sign-in, remove that weak point, and a few simple habits cover the rest.
What a passkey is
A passkey is a sign-in method that replaces typing a password with the same check you already use to unlock your device: a fingerprint, a face scan or your screen lock PIN. Behind the scenes, your device holds a private cryptographic key that never leaves it, and Amazon holds the matching public key. When you sign in, your device proves it has the key without sending a secret that could be stolen.
Because there is no password to type, there is nothing for a fake login page to capture. That makes passkeys resistant to phishing, which is the most common way seller accounts are compromised. Amazon also says that signing in with a passkey is about six times faster than typing a password.
How passkeys work across devices
Passkeys sync across devices that share the same password manager, such as your phone, laptop and tablet. Once you set one up, you can sign in from any of those devices without enrolling again. If you work from a device that does not have your passkey, you can usually sign in by scanning a QR code with a phone that does.
How to set up a passkey for Seller Central
- Sign in to Seller Central and open your Login & Security settings.
- Select the option to set up a passkey.
- Confirm with your fingerprint, face, QR code or device PIN, depending on your device.
- Sign out and sign back in once to confirm the passkey works before you rely on it.
Setup takes less than a minute. Amazon has rolled passkeys out to all Seller Central accounts and has said they will become required for some accounts, so setting one up now avoids a forced change at an inconvenient moment.
Keep a working backup method
A passkey is only as available as the devices that hold it. Before you depend on it, make sure two-step verification is active on the account with a current authenticator app or phone number, and that your recovery email is one you control. If you replace your phone or lose access to your password manager, these backups are how you get back in. Some sellers have reported sign-in trouble after changing security settings, so do not remove your other methods until you have confirmed the passkey works on every device you use.
Give every person their own login
Sharing the main account login with staff, freelancers or an agency is one of the biggest security risks a seller can take. Seller Central lets the account owner invite users and set permissions for each area: inventory, pricing, orders, reports, advertising and so on. Use this instead of sharing credentials.
- Grant the minimum access needed. A listing specialist does not need access to payments or bank details. An advertising manager usually needs the ads console and reports, not account settings.
- Review users every quarter. Remove people who have left and reduce access for people whose role has changed.
- Restrict the most sensitive areas. Keep changes to deposit methods, legal entity details and user permissions with the account owner only.
If you work with an agency, grant access through user permissions or through the advertising console's own user management. A reputable agency will never ask for your primary login.
Recognize common attacks
- Phishing emails and messages. Messages claiming your account will be suspended unless you sign in through a link. Always open Seller Central directly from your bookmark, not from a link in an email.
- Fake buyer messages. Buyer-seller messages that include links to "view the issue" on an outside site.
- Fake support calls. Callers who claim to be from Amazon and ask for verification codes. Amazon will not ask you to read out a one-time code.
- Browser extensions and tools. Only connect third-party apps through the official Selling Partner Appstore authorization, and remove apps you no longer use.
What to watch for in your account
Set a routine to check for signs of unauthorized activity: changes to your deposit method, new users you did not add, unexpected listing edits, price changes or new shipping templates. Amazon sends notifications for many of these changes, so make sure account notifications go to an inbox someone reads every day. If you see something wrong, change your credentials, remove unknown users and contact Seller Support straight away.
Why security is part of account health
An attacker who changes listings, ships counterfeit stock under your name or ignores customer messages can generate policy violations that land on your Account Health page. Recovering from those can take weeks. Strong sign-in security is one of the cheapest ways to protect the account you depend on. Our account audit covers access and permissions alongside listings and advertising.
What this means for sellers
Set up a passkey for Seller Central now, keep two-step verification and recovery details current as a backup, and give every team member and partner their own login with only the access they need. Review users and account settings every quarter. These steps take an afternoon and close the gaps most attackers rely on. If you also run ads, apply the same discipline to your advertising console users; our Amazon PPC Guide covers how to structure ad account access and reporting.
Not sure who has access to your account?
We will review your users, permissions and account health and flag the risks, free of charge.
Sources
- Amazon Seller Central, Seller News: "Sign in to Seller Central easier with a passkey" (October 14, 2026), sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-news
- Amazon Customer Service: "What is Two-Step Verification?", amazon.com