Commons aspects of our digital lifestyles include paying bills online, shopping with our mobile phones or allowing a houseguest to use our home Wi-Fi network. Quite often, these activities require us to share a password with a family member, but this is another area where convenience trumps safety and security.
This sharing habit is part of what we found through our survey of consumer password habits earlier this year. (Previously, we looked at how consumers manage passwords and the impact of data breach fatigue on password habits.)
How Consumers Share Passwords
Most consumers feel comfortable sharing their passwords with family members, assuming that they will be kept safe and secure. The methods most commonly used to share passwords with family members are informal, often by simply telling them verbally or writing passwords down on paper.
Nearly two-thirds of consumers report sharing their passwords with family members (61 percent), compared to 39 percent who do not. Those who do most often, share their passwords verbally (44 percent) or write them down on paper (18 percent). One in ten report texting their passwords to family, while 4 percent email them.
There are a number of differences in who shares passwords by demographic group, with younger consumers, middle aged females, higher income consumers, parents with children and those who are married more likely to share than others.
Differences in groups who share their passwords with family members
| More likely | Less likely |
| Age 18-34 (70%) | Age 45-54 (55%) and 55-64 (58%) and 65+ (51%) |
| Males 18-34 (68%) | Males 45-54 (47%) |
| Females 18-34 (71%) and 35-44 (70%) and 45-54 (64%) | Females 55-64 (58%) and 65+ (51%) |
| Females 45-54 (64%) | Males 45-54 (47%) |
| Income of $50K-$74.9K (70%) and $75K – $99.9K (65%) and $100K+ (67%) | Income of Less Than $50K (52%) |
| Students (80%) | Retired (50%) |
| Parent (70%) | Non-Parent (57%) |
| Married (68%) | Not Married (53%) |
All of this data was incredibly informative to us as we designed Password Boss as a solution to the password sharing problem. Making passwords easy to share is another reason Password Boss is easier to use than other products.
We’re the only product that allows you to share any information that you have with anybody else. Other companies put limits on what you can share. We don’t. You know best what you want to share, so we leave you in charge. We make it secure, but you pick who gets your information.
So, if you want to make it easier and safer to share passwords with family members and trusted friends, download Password Boss today.