These are 2023’s most common passwords – make sure yours isn’t on the list

NordPass has just released a study revealing the world’s 200 most common passwords in 2023. To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the study, the company’s researchers explored what passwords internet users save for different online services.

For example, the study concluded that people use the weakest passwords for their streaming accounts – while the strongest are for financial accounts. But with streaming services focusing on password crackdown, I wouldn’t recommend setting an easy code for your Netflix account.

In 2023, the password “123456” was the most used in the US, replacing the previous number one, which was “guest.” That said, US users might have learned something as it didn’t appear as one of the most used codes this time.

According to NordPass, almost a third of the world’s most popular passwords consist of purely numerical sequences, such as “123456789,” “12345, “000000,” etc. Alarming data shows that as many as 70% of the passwords in this year’s global list can be cracked in less than a second.

Another interesting discovery on the 2023 most common passwords list shows that instead of improving password creation habits, internet users have gone in another direction by sticking to already pre-configured passwords. The word “admin,” which, most likely, is one of the passwords that people do not bother changing, made it to the top among this year’s most common passwords in most of the researched countries, including the US.

“With the terrifying risks password users encounter, alternative methods in online authentication are now essential. Passkey technology, considered the most promising innovation to replace passwords, is successfully paving its way, gaining trust among individuals and progressive companies worldwide. Being among the first password managers to offer this technology, we see people are curious to test new things, as long as this helps eliminate the hassle of passwords,” says Tomas Smalakys, the CTO of NordPass.

Top 20 most common passwords used in the US in 2023

These are the most common passwords used in the US in 2023. BGR also covered the 2022 list.