For the third annual World Password Day Survey, Bitwarden polled over 2,000 internet users globally (United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France, and Japan) on their password security practices. Here are some of findings:

  • 19% of respondents said they used “password” as their password
  • 52% use easily identifiable information in their passwords, such as company/brand names, well-known song lyrics, pet names, and names of loved ones
  • Best practices are still diluted by bad habits, with 85% reusing passwords across multiple sites and 58% relying on memory for their passwords
  • A majority (68%) of respondents manage passwords for 10+ sites or apps and yet 84% of respondents reuse passwords
  • More than half of respondents forget and reset their passwords on a regular basis
  • Around a quarter (20%) were affected by breaches and a majority (80%) were prompted to reset their passwords
  • Over half (56%) are excited about passwordless options, and 50% are using or would use ‘something you are’ forms of passwordless authentication

Passwordless options are of interest to consumers, as evidenced by the Bitwarden survey and a recent survey from the FIDO Alliance. Key password statistics:

  • 29% of consumers prefer signing in with biometrics (such as fingerprint or face scan) versus 19% who prefer to enter a password manually
  • 44% actually use biometrics to sign into accounts, although 64% also still enter their passwords manually
  • 69% of respondents report that their most frequently used password is at least a year old

    With thanks to bitwarden for publishing these password study results for this year.