It’s no secret that people reuse passwords.
In fact, a recent study found that 64% of people reuse passwords across multiple accounts.
We have gathered even more vital password reuse statistics for your consideration, which you will find in the following article.
Password reuse is a serious security risk, as it means that if one of your passwords is compromised, hackers can potentially access all your other accounts.
While it may seem like a big inconvenience to you, it’s worth using different passwords across accounts as a risk mitigation measure.
Unfortunately, hackers have access to a vast database of compromised passwords that they are all too willing to use.
This means they can use this information to try to log in to your accounts so, if you’re using the same password for multiple accounts, they’ll only need to guess it once to gain access to all of them.
Don’t make this easy for them.
If you want to protect your online accounts, it’s important to create strong, unique passwords for each one.
You can use a password manager to help you keep track of your passwords.
We will get into how to apply not reusing passwords later.
For now, let’s look at some password reuse statistics in 2025 to show you how risky it is.
Key Statistics
- 64% of people reuse passwords across multiple accounts.
- 81% of hack-related breaches happen due to compromised passwords.
- 70% of breaches from 2021 occurred because of previously exposed passwords.
- 25% of working adults use the same password for all of their work logins.
- 73% of users duplicate their work and personal account passwords.
- 76% of millennials recycle their passwords.
- 30% of internet users have fallen victim to a data breach resulting from a weak password.
- One of the most used passwords is “123456.”
- 59% of American adults use their names or birthdays in passwords.
- 44 million Microsoft accounts had reused passwords.
Important Password Reuse Statistics in 2025
Let’s find out why it’s so important to avoid reusing passwords across your accounts.
1. 64% of People Reuse Passwords Across Multiple Accounts.
Recent studies have revealed that 64% of people reuse their passwords across several accounts, especially when the need to remember passwords reaches more than 100.
SpyCloud discovered that only 22% of users rely solely on their memory to remember passwords.
(KnowBe4 Blog, Michigan Medicine Headlines 2023)
2. 81% of Hack-Related Breaches Happen Due to Compromised Passwords.
Not only are people reusing passwords on multiple accounts, 81% to 82% of data breaches are shown to occur due to compromised passwords.
If you search Google for “reuse passwords” you can see how this problem has risen to 85% since the last half of 2022.
(Michigan Medicine Headlines 2023)
3. 70% of Breaches from 2021 Occurred Because of Previously Exposed Passwords.
We should be aware that 70% of data breaches that occurred in 2021 were due to previously exposed (already used) passwords.
Furthermore, 2021 saw 1.7 billion exposed credentials (email and password) across 755 data breach sources.
Moreover, this is a 15% increase over 1.4 billion that occurred in 2020.
(KnowBe4 Blog)
4. 25% of Working Adults Use the Same Password for All of Their Work Logins.
Not only do people use the same password for multiple personal accounts, 25% of employees use the same password to access their work accounts.
Imagine what happens when data like this gets listed on the dark web among hackers who are nefarious actors.
(KnowBe4 Blog)
5. 73% of Users Duplicate Their Work and Personal Account Passwords.
In 2019, Microsoft reported that 73% of all passwords are duped across work and personal accounts.
This data came from the SANS Software Security Institute categorized as one of the most common vulnerabilities.
(Microsoft Security 2019, NordLayer, SANS Spotlight 2019)
6. 76% of Millennials Recycle Their Passwords.
Password recycling is the same thing as reusing passwords.
Research shows that a whopping 76% of Millennials admit to reusing their passwords across numerous accounts.
The recommendation if you plan to recycle/reuse passwords is to enable 2FA (two-factor authentication).
(Gikko Mobile Messaging)
7. 30% of Internet Users Have Experienced a Data Breach Due to A Weak Password.
According to statistics, a shocking 155 million online users have fallen victim to some kind of hacking even due to having a weak password.
This number represents 30% of all the active online users on the globe.
For reference, there are roughly 5.19 billion active users of the internet on the planet.
(FDM)
8. One of The Most Used Passwords Is “123456.”
After all the known data out there, one of the most used passwords is still “123456”.
It’s not the number one because “guest” has that spot.
Number three on the list is “password” and number four is “12345”.
There is a full list of 200 commonly used passwords online, but should that be a thing?
(9TO5Mac)
9. 59% of American Adults Use Their Names or Birthdays in Passwords.
A surprising 59% of adults in the United States use their names and/or birthdays in their passwords.
Don’t be part of the 59%.
Use strong alphanumeric passwords with characters to make them difficult to guess.
Also, avoid using your pet’s name, or kids’ or partner’s names.
(Google/Harris Poll 2019, MarketSplash)
10. 44 Million Microsoft Users Were Found to Have Reused Passwords.
In 2019, it was discovered that 44 million registered users of Microsoft products and services were reusing passwords.
In fact, these were passwords that had already been exposed. Microsoft implemented a forced password reset to users.
(Welivesecurity 2023, ZDNet 2019)
11. 32% Keep Track with Pen and Paper, 23% with A Computer Document, and 20% with Their Email Account.
Statistics show that 32% of online account holders rely on remembering their passwords using pen and paper.
Another 55% rely on their own memories to remember their passwords.
23% have a textual computer file with their passwords on it, and 20% have their passwords stored in their email.
(MarketSplash)
12. Only 34% Regularly Update Their Passwords.
According to the Google/Harris Poll 2019 report, only 34% of respondents said that they regularly update their passwords.
This is part of the survey that measured American attitudes for securing passwords.
The overall consensus revealed a “Thanks, but no thanks” attitude.
(Google/Harris Poll 2019)
13. 44% of Internet Users Rarely Change or Reset Their Passwords.
According to statistics, 44% of online account users rarely change or reset their passwords.
This study shows that most internet users hardly ever change or reset their passwords.
On the opposite end, 6% changed their passwords daily.
Moreover, 15% said they change theirs several times per week and 34% said they changed theirs about once per month.
(Statista)
14. 91% of Respondents Claim to Understand the Risks of Reusing Passwords Across Multiple Accounts.
Interestingly, 91% of survey respondents in a study said they are aware of the risks of password reuse across multiple accounts, but 59% admitted to doing it anyway.
This data was revealed through a Verizon Data Leak Investigations Report.
(Trend Micro 2023, Verizon Report)
15. Only 27% of American Adults Use Random Password Generators to Create Secure Passwords.
Sadly, only 27% of adults in the United States said they use password generators to create random and secure passwords in 202.
On the positive side, 27% is nearly twice as many as from 2020 when this percentage was only 15%.
(Security.org)
16. 85% of Survey Participants Said that They Use 2 Fa for An Extra Layer of Password and Online Security Protection.
More positive news on the password front is that 85% of survey respondents said they use 2FA (two-factor authentication) to add extra online protection.
The use of 2FA does add an extra layer of protection that can keep your password and personal data safer from nefarious hackers.
(Security.org)
17. 32% of Users Now Utilize Secure Password Storage Solutions.
More 2021 survey respondents admitted that they started using secure password storage.
In fact, 32% of respondents said they are using secure password storage from built-in browser vaults or password management services.
This percentage represents a 22% increase over 2020.
(Security.org)
In a Google and Harris Poll partnership survey in 2019, it was revealed that 43% of respondents said they shared passwords with others, which means this is a common thing.
In fact, 22% shared their password with someone else for television streaming.
Moreover, 20% shared passwords with someone else.
(Google/Harris Poll 2019)
It’s not unusual for people to share their passwords with their significant others or loved ones.
In fact, many do this as a precautionary practice in case something happens to them.
However, after a breakup, the survey revealed that only 11% of these sharers of passwords changed their password.
(Google/Harris Poll 2019)
20. The MFA, Passwordless Authentication Sector Is Expected to Grow to $53.64 Billion by 2030.
Two-factor authentication (2FA) and multifactor authentication (MFA) is so popular that the passwordless authentication market is expected to reach $53.64 billion (USD) (about $170 per person in the US) by 2030.
Hopefully, this option can resolve password issues altogether. We shall see.
(Next Move Strategy Consulting)
FAQs
What Is Password Reuse?
Password reuse is the practice of using the same password for two or more accounts.
This is a massive security risk because if one of your passwords is compromised, all your accounts are at risk because hackers can potentially access all of them.
How Common Is Password Reuse?
Studies show that 64% of online account holders reuse passwords across several accounts.
This means that most of them are at risk of having their online accounts compromised.
Why Do People Reuse Passwords?
There are a few reasons people might want to reuse passwords.
Some do this because of the difficulty of remembering multiple passwords.
Others do this because they think that their passwords are safe, even if they’re reused.
However, no password is safe if it’s reused.
What Are the Risks of Password Reuse?
The primary risk of password reuse/recycling is that if one password is compromised, hackers are more apt to have access to all your accounts.
This could potentially lead to identity theft, monetary loss, and a plethora of other problems.
How Can I Avoid Password Reuse?
There are many things you can do to avoid password reuse.
Here are some helpful tips:
• Create strong and unique passwords for every one of your accounts.
• Utilize a password manager to keep track of your passwords.
• Don’t use common words or phrases in your passwords.
• Don’t share your passwords with anyone.
What Are Some Other Ways to Protect My Online Accounts?
In addition to avoiding password reuse, there are a few other things you can do to protect your online accounts.
Here are a few tips:
• Keep your software up to date.
• Use two-factor authentication whenever possible.
• Be careful about what information you share online.
• Be aware of phishing scams.
How Do I Create Strong Passwords?
Here are some tips for creating strong passwords:
• Use a combination of upper and lower case alphanumeric (letters and numbers) and characters/symbols.
• Make your password at least 12 characters long.
• Avoid using common words or phrases.
• Don’t use the same password for multiple accounts.
Conclusion
Password reuse is a serious security risk.
By using the same password for multiple accounts, you make it easier for hackers to access all your accounts if one of them is compromised.
There are a few things you can do to avoid password reuse.
You can create strong, unique passwords for each of your accounts, use a password manager to help you keep track of your passwords, and don’t use common words or phrases in your passwords.
In addition to avoiding password reuse, there are several other things you can do to protect your online accounts.
You can keep your software up to date, use two-factor authentication whenever possible, be careful about what information you share online, and be aware of phishing scams.
By following these tips, you can mitigate the risk of a hacker getting into your account and overall help you to protect your online accounts from hackers.
We hope you have gotten something beneficial from reading these password reuse statistics for 2025.