Americans keep using terrible passwords in 2026 as survey finds pet names and bi

BrianFagioli writes: A new survey from PasswordManager.com suggests Americans still have not learned their lesson about password security. Polling 1500 adults nationwide, the report finds that 84 percent reuse passwords across accounts and nearly two-thirds rely on predictable patterns such as pet names, birthdays, simple number strings and everyday words like âoebaseballâ or âoepassword.â Even after years of security warnings and highly publicized breaches, many respondents said they avoid changing passwords because they fear forgetting them or find updates too inconvenient.

The survey also highlights a gap between security awareness and real-world behavior. About 43 percent of respondents have already been notified that one of their accounts was involved in a hack or scam, yet password managers are only used by 23 percent of users. Two-factor authentication sees better adoption, but nearly half still only enable it when forced to do so. Awareness of passkeys is growing, but consumers want clearer guidance before shifting away from passwords entirely.