ZenKey was a carrier-backed sign-in service designed to let customers authenticate with participating apps and websites through a mobile app, with wireless-network information helping verify identity. It aimed to reduce dependence on passwords and one-time codes, not eliminate passwords everywhere. Verizon now says ZenKey is no longer supported for accessing Verizon.com; the available evidence does not establish the current status of ZenKey at AT&T or T-Mobile.
What ZenKey was designed to do
ZenKey was an identity and authentication initiative associated with major U.S. wireless carriers. Its goal was to simplify account registration and sign-in by combining carrier network signals with an app-mediated approval flow. At services that supported it, a customer could use ZenKey as a sign-in method instead of entering a password, or as an additional authentication factor alongside a password.
The ambition was to reduce password dependence, not to remove passwords from every online account. ZenKey could only be used where a service had integrated it, and the 2019 announcement explicitly described using it as an extra factor at services that retained passwords.
Which carriers were involved, and when?
The carrier roster changed between the early taskforce announcement and ZenKey’s launch. These were related stages, not a single unchanged list of joint-venture members.
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| Date | What was announced | Carriers named |
|---|---|---|
| March 1, 2018 | The Mobile Authentication Taskforce described a proposed platform for securely sharing verified phone-number and profile information with a user’s consent. | AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon |
| October 1, 2019 | The taskforce announced ZenKey as a platform for registration, authentication, and transaction authorization. | AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon |
| September 17, 2020 | ZenKey announced that its service had gone live on a limited set of apps and websites. The release described ZenKey LLC as a joint venture. | AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon |
The 2019 announcement said ZenKey could remove the need for passwords as a primary authenticator, while also allowing it to act as another factor when a service continued to require passwords. The release quoted Johannes Jaskolski, general manager of the Cross-Carrier Identity Joint Venture, saying, “We’re very excited about the interest and response we have received from those communities so far.” That statement is not a measure of user adoption.
How a ZenKey sign-in was supposed to work
- Install and register: A customer installed the ZenKey app and registered accounts at participating services.
- Start a sign-in: When the customer chose ZenKey at an integrated app or website, the service requested authentication.
- Approve in the app: The customer reviewed and approved the request through the ZenKey app. The service could use the resulting authentication as a primary sign-in method or, where it kept passwords, as an additional factor.
- Confirm sensitive actions when requested: Verizon’s terms described optional extra authorization for sensitive activity, such as a bank transfer, using a ZenKey PIN or biometric.
The launch description said the service used carrier network information to help verify a device or account and supported use on a phone as well as trusted linked laptops and tablets. An early 2018 platform description listed possible attributes such as a network-verified mobile number, IP address, SIM-card attributes, phone-number tenure, and account type, along with analytics and machine learning for risk assessment. Those early platform details should not be taken as proof that every listed signal was used in the final consumer app.
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What data and permissions were involved?
Verizon’s ZenKey terms described account and device information—including mobile-device identifiers and information associated with a SIM—as being shared with registered service providers for identity verification and fraud protection after the user registered the app with that provider. The terms also said users could control which requested personal-information elements they disclosed to a service provider.
That control applied to the information requested through ZenKey; it did not determine how a service provider could use data after receiving it. Verizon’s terms pointed to the service provider’s own privacy terms for its handling of that information. As with any sign-in method, users needed to consider both the authentication flow and the policies of the service they were accessing.
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Which services were named at launch?
ZenKey’s September 2020 launch release named a limited set of consumer services and enterprise-related integrations or collaborations. These are historical launch-announcement examples, not a verified current directory.
| Category | Examples named in the September 2020 release |
|---|---|
| Apps and websites | LiveXLive, Verizon My Fios, AT&T TV, DIRECTV, myAT&T, AT&T TV Now, and Currently from AT&T |
| Enterprise integrations or collaborations | ForgeRock and IBM Security Verify |
| Other services associated with the launch announcement | FilesAnywhere, Global Grid for Learning, and Proctorio |
The release said users could use ZenKey as a primary authentication method or as a replacement for PIN codes as a second factor. An announced collaboration or launch-era integration does not establish that a service remains available today.
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Is ZenKey still supported?
Verizon Support currently states, “The ZenKey app used to access Verizon.com is no longer supported.” It directs customers to access and manage Verizon accounts with a username and password in My Verizon. This establishes Verizon’s stated status for that use case; it does not establish that AT&T or T-Mobile ended all ZenKey services, and the sources available do not resolve current availability at either carrier.
The sources also do not establish a precise discontinuation date, a current directory of participating services, or quantitative figures for ZenKey adoption, password reduction, or fraud reduction. Launch announcements and partner names should not be read as proof of widespread use or measured outcomes.
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Sources
- Verizon Support, “No longer supported: ZenKey” (current notice; accessed October 4, 2026).
- ZenKey via PR Newswire, “US Wireless Providers and Consumer Brands Go Live with ZenKey” (September 17, 2020).
- Verizon, “ZenKey by Verizon Terms of Service and end user license agreement” (accessed October 4, 2026).
- Mobile Authentication Taskforce via MWC/PR Newswire, “Mobile Authentication Taskforce to Unveil ZenKey at MWC Los Angeles” (October 1, 2019).
- Mobile Authentication Taskforce via PR Newswire, “AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon unveil next-generation mobile authentication platform details” (March 1, 2018).
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