How to make a strong passphrase
Learn how random words can make a password easier to type without making it easy to guess.
A passphrase is a password made from several words. It can be easier to type than a jumble of characters, but the words need to be chosen at random.
Let the tool choose the words
The strength of a passphrase comes from choosing each word at random. Do not turn a favorite quote, song lyric, pet’s name, or personal story into a passphrase. Those choices feel memorable because they follow patterns that other people can guess.
The passphrase generator picks from a list of 7,776 words and starts with six words. The memorable-password generator uses a shorter list of 1,296 common words and starts with seven. Each word is picked separately, so seeing the same word twice does not mean the tool is broken.
Use enough words
Two words, three words, and four words are useful for seeing how the tool works, but they are not the recommended starting point for an important account. More randomly chosen words create more possible combinations. Check that the account accepts the spaces or separators you choose and that the full passphrase fits its length limit.
You can add three random digits between the words when a site requires numbers. The extra digits help meet that rule, but they do not replace the need for enough random words.