28 Percent of American Adults Have Same Online Password

Twenty-eight percent of American adults use the same password for most (22 percent) or all (6 percent) of their online accounts.^[1][2]

A YouGov survey found that only 22 percent take the security precaution of using a different password for every account.

Thirty-eight percent have never shared their passwords with anyone, including family members or a significant other.

The news has been filled with recent stories of massive data breaches. Still, most (53 percent) believe their accounts are at least somewhat safe from hackers. Twenty-four percent don’t think they are very safe. Eleven percent say they’re not at all safe. That’s a fairly high level of confidence given that 35 percent have already had at least one of their accounts hacked.

Younger adults are more likely than their elders to use the same login for all accounts.

Footnotes:

1. YouGov, "28% of Americans use one password for most or all online logins," October 16, 2017
2. YouGov, "Passwords survey data," accessed October 20, 2017

   Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Dayexplores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology. Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.

   Scott Rasmussen is a Senior Fellow for the Study of Self-Governance at the King’s College in New York and an Editor-At-Large for Ballotpedia, the Encyclopedia of American Politics. His most recent book, "Politics Has Failed: America Will Not," was published by the Sutherland Institute in May.To read more of his reports — Click Here Now.