10 Password Statistics That Will Make You Question Your Password Habits

Passwords are the keys to your front door. Stolen passwords can be used to gain access to our online accounts and email, which often contain sensitive information. Google and Harris Poll researched the password habits of 3,000+ Americans to uncover password statistics that will hopefully inspire you to evaluate your internet security needs, use two-factor authentication (2FA) or multi-factor authentication (MFA), and create stronger, more secure passwords.

1. You're not alone: 75% of respondents get frustrated trying to keep track of their passwords.
2. Put it on paper: 36% of Americans keep track of passwords by writing them on a piece of paper.
3. Manager, Passwords: Only 15% of respondents use a password manager.
4. Easy as abc123: 24% of Americans have used the following common passwords, or some variation: abc123, Password, 123456, Iloveyou, 111111, Qwerty, Admin, or Welcome.
5. If it ain't broke, don't fix it: Two-thirds of U.S. adults use the same password for more than one online account.
6. Lucky guess: 27% of Americans have attempted to guess someone else's password and 17% have gotten the password correct.
7. Happy birthday!: 59% of U.S. adults have incorporated a name or birthday into their password to an online account.
8. Two-factor what?: Just 37% of Americans use two-factor authentication.
9. We've been compromised: 4 in 10 Americans say their personal information has been compromised online and 47% of those individuals have lost money because of it. Not to mention 12% of those who lost money said it was more than $500.
10. Ah, why change now?: Among the most surprising statistic of this study was that even after a data breach, less than half (45%) of Americans would bother to change their password.
    

From this data, we can say that most people are not willing to put in the effort to protect themselves through secure password habits. According to Microsoft, activating something as simple as MFA can mean that your account is 99.9% less likely to be compromised. 2FA or MFA is a feature that is now regularly being built into apps and software, as well as available through third-party password managers like RememBear, NordPass, or LastPass.

Take this blog post as a reminder to consider using a password manager, do not repeat passwords, and whenever possible use MFA when signing on to protect both you and your business.

If you'd like to check out the full findings of the Google/Harris Poll research, click here.

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