Everyone tires of it: the prompt to create a password. Maybe that’s why 1-2-3-4-5-6 is the number one password choice, followed by 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8. While users may be foiling the eight-character requirement for passwords with success, it’s not helping their security. And with more people installing financial apps on their phones, it’s become a priority to make sure your smartphone’s actually protected.
That’s why we’re highlighting which passwords not to use, as well as all-too-common passcodes and password patterns.
Most Common Password Patterns for Phones
If you thought your password pattern was original, guess again. A recent study uncovered that many of these tic-tac-toe patterns, which are exclusive to the Android OS and referred to as Android Lock Patterns (ALPs), share many similarities. In fact, 77 percent start in one of the four corners, with more than 40 percent choosing the top-left corner as their starting mark.
Lots of users also like to create alphabetical letters with their ALP, such as the following:
- M
- N
- L
- O
- S
And guess what? The letters people chose coordinated with their initials or that of a close family member, making the pattern even easier to guess.
Most Common PIN Passcodes for Phones
With only four digits, it’s not surprising that there’s a list of the most common phone passcodes — the surprise is the PINs that made the list:
- 1-2-3-4
- 1-1-1-1
- 0-0-0-0
- 1-2-1-2
As demonstrated, people have an undeniable fondness for simplicity, as well as bad habits. Like the most common password patterns for phones, users also opt to create PINs from personal data, such as birthdays, anniversaries and addresses. The problem, however, is that this information isn’t hard to get a hold of, especially when you’re sharing photos of your Spider-Man birthday cake across social media.
Most Common Text Passwords for Phones
Every year, a new list of the most common text-based passwords for phones comes out. And every year, the same ones top the list — 1-2-3-4-5-6, for instance, has been one of the most common passwords for more than five years. A few oddballs, such as “18atcskd2w” and “3rjs1la7qe,” are also favored passwords, though it’s believed that may be due to their popularity among bots.
If you’re wondering what other passwords not to use, consider striking these off your list:
- “qwerty”
- “mynoob”
- “google”
- “starwars”
Overall, the most common passwords for phones tend to be numerical. So, if you’re looking at an alphabetical and numerical combination, you’re on the right track.
How to Avoid the Most Common Passwords, PINs and Patterns for Phones
Looking to change your ways and become a connoisseur of passwords, PINs and patterns — or at least turn your parents away from 1-2-3-4? Excellent! Because there are tons of steps you can take to make your phone more secure, from including more nodes on your ALP to creating unique password phrases. To get you started, we’ve compiled some tips for creating a good smartphone password, PIN or pattern, which will help you — or your parents — modernize your phone’s security.