diff --git a/website/docs/docs/cloud/connect-data-platform/connect-snowflake.md b/website/docs/docs/cloud/connect-data-platform/connect-snowflake.md
index 5f1c4cae725..c265529fb49 100644
--- a/website/docs/docs/cloud/connect-data-platform/connect-snowflake.md
+++ b/website/docs/docs/cloud/connect-data-platform/connect-snowflake.md
@@ -42,10 +42,12 @@ alter user jsmith set rsa_public_key='MIIBIjANBgkqh...';
 ```
 
 2. Finally, set the **Private Key** and **Private Key Passphrase** fields in the **Credentials** page to finish configuring dbt Cloud to authenticate with Snowflake using a key pair.
-   
-   **Note:** At this time ONLY Encrypted Private Keys are supported by dbt Cloud, and the keys must be of size 4096 or smaller.
 
-3. To successfully fill in the Private Key field, you **must** include commented lines when you add the passphrase. Leaving the **Private Key Passphrase** field empty will return an error.  If you're receiving a `Could not deserialize key data` or `JWT token` error, refer to [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting) for more info. 
+**Note:** Unencrypted private keys are permitted. Use a passphrase only if needed.
+As of dbt version 1.5.0, you can use a `private_key` string in place of `private_key_path`. This `private_key` string can be either Base64-encoded DER format for the key bytes or plain-text PEM format. For more details on key generation, refer to the [Snowflake documentation](https://community.snowflake.com/s/article/How-to-configure-Snowflake-key-pair-authentication-fields-in-dbt-connection).
+
+
+4. To successfully fill in the Private Key field, you _must_ include commented lines. If you receive a `Could not deserialize key data` or `JWT token` error, refer to [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting) for more info. 
 
 **Example:**
 
diff --git a/website/docs/docs/core/connect-data-platform/snowflake-setup.md b/website/docs/docs/core/connect-data-platform/snowflake-setup.md
index 2b426ef667b..2ab5e64e36a 100644
--- a/website/docs/docs/core/connect-data-platform/snowflake-setup.md
+++ b/website/docs/docs/core/connect-data-platform/snowflake-setup.md
@@ -98,7 +98,8 @@ Along with adding the `authenticator` parameter, be sure to run `alter account s
 
 ### Key Pair Authentication
 
-To use key pair authentication, omit a `password` and instead provide a `private_key_path` and, optionally, a `private_key_passphrase` in your target. **Note:** Versions of dbt before 0.16.0 required that private keys were encrypted and a `private_key_passphrase` was provided. This behavior was changed in dbt v0.16.0.
+To use key pair authentication, skip the `password` and provide a `private_key_path`. If needed, you can also add a `private_key_passphrase`. 
+**Note**: Unencrypted private keys are accepted, so add a passphrase only if necessary.
 
 Starting from [dbt v1.5.0](/docs/dbt-versions/core), you have the option to use a `private_key` string instead of a `private_key_path`. The `private_key` string should be in either Base64-encoded DER format, representing the key bytes, or a plain-text PEM format. Refer to [Snowflake documentation](https://docs.snowflake.com/developer-guide/python-connector/python-connector-example#using-key-pair-authentication-key-pair-rotation) for more info on how they generate the key.