readable passwords - request: don't conflate separator and number

gooberv
gooberv
Community Member
edited September 16 in Mac

I have read the other threads, but I think the one callout that isn't highlighted is conflating separators and numbers, while maintaining readability.

Separators are effective by making passwords easier to read and manually enter. Hyphens and periods are good examples of being able to see the words.

wor.pers.OWN
wor-per-OWN

Since many sites require non-alphanumeric AND numbers AND letters AND capitals, the one option we are missing is tacking on numbers _somewhere_without conflating the separators.

wor.PERS.own66 is much easier (for us older people) to see than wor.PERS66own. Another variation: wor.PERS66.own is better than wor.PERS66own.

The point being that people can remember 3-5 letters at a time, but PERS9own forces the user into an 8 character visual cognitive load that appears too high and is overwhelming.

A young developer may not realize that older people are pretty ok with
wor (go back and look)
PERS66 (go back and look)
own

But they are not ok with
wor (go back and look)
PERS66own

I believe, intuitively, this is why the prior forum suggestions request adding numbers as a ticky box, rather than using them inside the separators

ALSO - please note that lots of old people don't have everything integrated through APIs. The ability to read and deal manually with passwords is crucial. People need to say it aloud to their partner in the house, or read it to a nephew over the phone assisting, or need to type it in, because they don't know how to copy/paste or use browser extensions.

TL;DR Readability is crucial. Numbers used as separators foul up the readability. Make numbers an additional tack-on-option; don't conflate with separators.

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Comments

  • Dave_1P
    Dave_1P

    Hello @gooberv! 👋

    Thank you for the detailed feedback. I can see how being able to add numbers to a memorable password, aside from the separator option, would be useful to some folks. While I can't make any promises, I've filed a feature request with our product team on your behalf.

    The team will consider the request for future versions of 1Password. 🙂

    -Dave

    ref: PB-42429925