You might have noticed that sometimes when you try to login into any app or website after a long time, you often forget passwords you’ve used, and will have to reset them. Today we will discuss why we often forget passwords and what we can do to avoid this.
Introduction
According to ExpressVPN’s research, an average user spends about four minutes resetting their passwords each time they forget passwords. What would you want to do if you had four minutes? Of all the things you might be thinking, resetting your account password might not be on the list.
Almost all modern accounts use a password to access your info. And passwords are one of the most secure ways (the other being biometric methods). So, why do people forget passwords to their accounts? We are going to discuss the reason that might be behind this.
Reasons
There are several reasons why you forget passwords to your accounts.
Very Long and Complicated Passwords
While most websites only focus on telling users how strong their password is, they do nothing to help users remember that password, like giving an option for a password hint, for example. It’s recommended by most websites to use a text-based password that is 12-17 letters long and uses a mixture of upper case, lower case, numeric value, and special characters.
Most users try to use passwords that are easy to remember and that they are familiar with. But the problem is, they are insecure and are easy to crack. Modern websites prefer complex passwords to make the accounts more secure, and users end up using passwords that are very hard for them to remember.
Not Using The Password More Often
The human memory also depends upon the number of times a person uses a thing. Most people forget passwords because they don’t use that website or password often. Using the same passwords on multiple sites is not recommended, Which is one of the major reasons a person can forget their password.
However, If someone is forgetting a password they use on a regular basis, It may be because they do not pay much attention while using the password before and it was their subconscious mind that remembered the password and they didn’t pay much attention to it. It might be due to some other reasons which bring up another point.
Forgetting Your Most Used Passwords
If someone is forgetting their most-used password or just reset it and immediately forgets it. It might be due to dyslexia or amnesia. One of these is related to a condition called short-term memory loss, in which a person has difficulty remembering things and often forgets what they are thinking about.
Sometimes it can happen due to anxiety or depression. In these states, a person’s mind is not in the right place to remember stuff like passwords and other personal details. Even a person suffering through these stages forgets to polish their shoes.
Biometric Methods are Easy
Most people use biometric methods to login into different platforms. Methods like Fingerprints and Face detection systems. These are only there to help us make the process easy, but most people rely too much on these methods due to their ease of use and forget their passwords. We recommend using your password once in a while just to jog your memory so that you don’t forget your passwords and get yourself locked out of your accounts.
Remembering Different Passwords
While it is recommended not to use the same password on multiple platforms, it is also a major reason many people face difficulty remembering passwords for different platforms. We recommend that you use different variations of the password and try not to use it on more than two platforms. This way, you can remember passwords more easily.
The Most Passwords Reset
According to ExpressVPN’s report, most password resets are of banking applications. Just think, You want to make a quick transaction at a store or a mall, and you forget the password to your banking app. It’s been a while since you last logged into that account, and now you are standing there trying to reset the password.
According to this report, more than 30% of people say that they often forget their online banking applications or website passwords, Which can sometimes be frustrating. In the same report, people cited the second most frustrating moment for them is forgetting their password and having to reset it, followed by being told that “The new password can’t be the same as the old one.” The first one is slow internet.
How to Avoid It
Most websites recommend using a password with at least an uppercase letter, a few lowercase letters, and one or two special characters. We recommend using a password that is easy to remember, like your name or something you are familiar with, and try to use a mixture of both upper and lower case alphabets, followed by a few numbers that you can remember, and use one or two special characters.
Another method is to try to write down your passwords in a notebook in a way that only you can understand (Only you can decode). They become easier to remember if you have written them down.
And lastly, try to use a password manager. By using them, you only need to remember one password (The only one your password manager uses. Nowadays, Modern password manager stores passwords in an encrypted manner, and only you can see the password. And they also offer auto fulfill feature that automatically fills the username and password section on any website or application and helps you save more time.
Conclusion
It’s well-known that text-based passwords are hard to remember, and people prefer simple, insecure passwords. According to a report, an average person spends about four minutes resetting their passwords. You can do a lot of other enjoyable stuff in that much time. Human memory works in a way that it adapts based on how often a password is used. People who use a password more frequently are less likely to forget it. We recommend using a strong and hard password to decode, but the problem is. The stronger the password is, the harder it is to remember them. Due to this reason, we recommend using a password manager because they offer many other features that help the user save more time and you only need to remember one password.