The influence of password restrictions and mnemonics on the memory for passwords of older adults

Abstract

Accessing Internet accounts can provide convenient services to users, regardless of age. However, these online services typically require that users enter a username and password. Forgetting one's password, then, often results in the inconvenience of having to reset your password. Although there has been research on the memorability of passwords, this research often focuses on younger adults. Little research has taken older adults into consideration when designing password requirements. Older adults show cognitive decline in memory, which can make the task of remembering passwords especially difficult. However, older adults experience less difficulty in memory for familiar pictures, making the use of pictures an ideal candidate for cuing passwords. Participants in this study were asked to generate passwords for five different fictitious online accounts using a text-based or image-based mnemonic technique. Older adults were less likely to forget passwords that were generated using image-based mnemonic technique compared to the text-based one, implying that pictures can be used as cues for password recall for older adults. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.