Have you ever stopped to think about how many passwords you have?
There’s one for every financial institution you deal with, customer loyalty accounts, government accounts, utility accounts, the list goes on.
In fact, it’s estimated that the average person has anywhere from 70-100 accounts.
If you’re using passwords properly that means a separate password for each account.
In short, you have to remember approximately 100 passwords. That’s not a practical option for anyone.
Fortunately, there is a solution. As the following password manager statistics show, there are problems associated with passwords.
That’s why you need a reputable password manager such as NordPass.
Key Statistics
- 58% of Americans have been the victims of a data breach
- 85% of people know using the same password is dangerous
- 65% of Americans think password managers shouldn’t be trusted
- Users of password managers are three times less likely to suffer from identity theft
- Just 25% of employers insist employees use password managers
- 27% of internet users fail to see the benefits of password managers
- 55% of people prefer to memorize their passwords
- 84% of users have password manager installed on mobile devices
- Half of password manager users use their master password elsewhere
Top Password Manager Statistics You Need To Know in 2024
1. 58% Of Americans Have Been The Victims Of A Data Breach
In 2017 Equifax experienced a security breach and the data records of at least 140 million US citizens were stolen.
It was damaging to Equifax’s professional reputation.
Data theft leaves individuals open to fraud, identity theft, and even the destruction of their credit score.
It’s not an isolated incident, smaller scale breaches occur all the time.
58% of Americans have experienced at least one data breach.
This ranges from 21% of people having a financial account hacked and 19.3% of those surveyed referencing email hacks.
Yet, despite this and the associated risks, many people are still not interested in using password managers.
(Equifax)
2. 85% Of People Know Using The Same Password Is Dangerous
Using the same password is easier. Whenever you need to log into an account you will know the password.
However, if a hacker manages to access your password, they won’t gain access to one of your accounts, they’ll be able to access everyone using the same password.
In short, using the same password is dangerous, yet a staggering proportion of internet users still use the same password on multiple accounts.
It’s estimated that 25% of internet users have the same password, or a close variant, on multiple accounts.
Considering research shows 85% of people know using the same password is dangerous, at least some of them are doing it anyway.
The study also highlighted that two out of five people keep a written record of their passwords, which aids in memorizing them.
Surprisingly, 18-34-year-olds are the worst.
Twenty-nine percent of this age range uses the same password on multiple accounts and even reuse old passwords.
In comparison, just 18.7% of people older than 55 adopt the same approach.
(NordPass)
3. 65% Of Americans Think Password Managers Shouldn’t Be Trusted
Password managers are designed to encrypt your data, keeping your passwords safe and ensuring you only have to remember one password.
However, people are generally reluctant to trust password managers.
The latest statistics show 65% of Americans don’t trust password managers.
Thirty-four percent of Americans fear the password manager could be hacked, exposing their data.
A further thirty-one percent worry that the password manager will do something with their information.
Interestingly, the mistrust of password managers is most prevalent in older generations. 37.4% of people over 55 fear a password manager can be hacked.
That number drops to just 14% in the 18-34-year-old age range.
This mistrust means that 48.4% of people don’t just avoid password managers, they state nothing would make them use a password manager in the future, not even a data breach.
(NordPass)
4. Users Of Password Managers Are Three Times Less Likely To Suffer From Identity Theft
However you may feel about passwords and password managers, the truth is, anyone using a password manager is three times less likely to be hacked.
Provided you use the password manager properly your risk of being a victim of cybercriminals is very low. A recent survey showed it as low as 12%.
In contrast, if you don’t use the password manager properly, your risk of losing personal credentials increases to 32%.
This means failing to protect your password manager password or not using the password generator.
In short, a password manager is an effective way to look after your private passwords.
Use it properly and you’re unlikely to get hacked.
(Security.org)
5. Just 25% Of Employers Insist Employees Use Password Managers
Companies tend to have a vast amount of personal data from their customers. This needs to be kept secure.
Secure servers and cloud storage help. However, the weak point is always employees and their passwords.
Hackers will target employees, often with phishing emails, to get the password and break into your secure storage areas.
The most effective way to keep passwords protected from hackers is by using a reputable password manager.
Despite knowing this, globally, only 25% of employers insist employees use a password manager at work.
Interestingly, the US fares slightly better than the global average, 32% of US businesses insist on password managers.
Employers that don’t insist on password managers are more likely to lose data as at least one employee will use a weak password and that’s all a cybercriminal needs to get into your system.
(Bitwarden)
6. 27% Of Internet Users Fail To See The Benefits Of Password Managers
In 2022 TechRadar conducted a survey of 1,000 people.
The results showed that 27% of people saw no benefit in using a password manager.
In fact, 26% of those surveyed were happy to record their passwords in writing at home or on a spreadsheet.
In addition, 27% of respondents used tools available via their computer to store passwords.
In both cases there was little concern regarding the safety of the passwords.
Of those that did use a password manager, 20% choose a free password manager.
The publicity surrounding data breaches, which can still happen to password managers, reinforces the idea that passwords aren’t safe.
It is worth noting that 16% of people feel that password managers cost too much and a further 15% don’t know how they work.
That does contribute to those happy to avoid using password managers.
(TechRadar)
7 55% Of People Prefer To Memorize Their Passwords
It may seem impossible to remember between 70-100 passwords.
Yet, according to the latest research by Bitwarden, 55% of people still believe memorizing their passwords is the best approach.
For most people, this is an impossible task.
That’s why the majority of people use the same password across multiple accounts, despite the additional risks this creates.
The survey also showed that 32% of people have their passwords written down.
This can appear like a good idea until the paper is stolen.
Alongside this, 23% save their passwords on their computer, allowing anyone that accesses their system to see their passwords.
An additional 20% of people store passwords inside emails. That’s possibly the worst place to store them.
The bottom line is simple, passwords may be important but a lack of trust in password managers means people prefer the easy option.
That’s reusing and saving them on paper or something similar.
(Bitwarden)
8. 84% Of Users Have Password Manager Installed on Mobile Devices
The number of people using the internet continues to rise.
However, as technology continues to improve an increasing number of people are accessing the internet via mobile devices.
IMore people access the web from mobile devices than from desktop computers.
The preferred option is a mobile phone.
That’s why the number of mobile devices with password managers installed is also increasing.
Although not everyone trusts password managers, of those that do use them, 84% have the password manager installed on their phone.
That’s a rise of 7% in 2022 compared to 2021.
The majority of these are on smartphones. Password managers on tablets have dropped while desktop usage has stayed the same.
(Security.org)
9. Half Of Password Manager Users Use Their Master Password Elsewhere
Password managers need to be used properly if you want to protect your passwords.
The best approach is to use the password generator and avoid creating your own passwords.
Unfortunately, many users are selecting their own passwords, weakening the system.
In addition, 50% of users are selecting their own password to access the password manager and using it on other accounts.
In many cases this is a weak password. That means hackers can identify the password, and use it to get into your password manager.
They are most likely to hack the password on another account and then find it fits your password manager, exposing all your information.
(NordPass)
How Password Managers Help
Password managers need to promote themselves as safe and secure. They generally are.
For example, a data breach involving a password manager doesn’t mean your passwords have been exposed.
Because passwords are encrypted, most data breaches involve the loss of personal information, not passwords.
This information can be used to guess easy passwords, but hackers can guess these without the data breach.
Password managers are designed to keep your data safe:
Encryption
The best password managers don’t just encrypt your passwords.
They make it so you are the only one that can unencrypt them.
That makes it much harder for a hacker to work out what they are, even if they get your file.
Alongside this, the password manager encrypts your access password to the software.
This is stored on your local device, even the software provider can’t access it.
In short, encryption helps ensure your passwords remain secure, even if a data breach occurs.
Unique Password Generator
Password managers generally offer password generators. These help ensure you have strong passwords.
A weak password is short, is related to you personally or your hobbies, and doesn’t use special characters or even uppercase letters.
In contrast, a strong password is at least 12 characters long, has no relevance to your daily life, and includes lower and uppercase letters, as well as special characters.
Having 70-100 strong passwords, effectively 12 or more random characters in each one, would be impossible to remember.
That’s why the password manager is such a valuable tool.
The secret to choosing a password manager is to select one with a good reputation.
This generally means making a small monthly payment for the service.
The reward for that payment is a significantly lower chance of your data being stolen and your accounts being hacked.
Summing Up
The number of data breaches and identity thefts occurring each year is rising. As our lives become increasingly digital this trend is likely to continue.
In short, everyone needs to do what they can to change the trend and keep personal data safe.
These password manager statistics show a deep distrust of password managers.
However, they are the most effective way to store passwords and keep personal information protected.
In short, password managers need to do more to earn the trust of people.
This is the most effective way to improve internet security and protect personal data.