Password Security in 2026: What's Changed

Password security in 2026 looks very different from even two years ago. Here is what has changed and what it means for developers.

Passkeys Are Mainstream

Passkeys — cryptographic key pairs stored on your device — have reached critical mass. Apple, Google, and Microsoft support them natively. Passkeys eliminate phishing entirely because the private key never leaves the device and is bound to the specific domain.

NIST Updated Guidelines

NIST SP 800-63B now explicitly recommends against forced password rotation, complexity requirements (mixing uppercase, lowercase, numbers, symbols), and security questions. Instead, they recommend long passphrases, breach database checking, and multi-factor authentication.

AI-Powered Attacks

Large language models can generate targeted password guesses based on publicly available information about a user. Dictionary attacks now include AI-generated variations that account for common substitution patterns. This makes simple passwords even more dangerous.

What Developers Should Do

Implement passkey support as the primary authentication method. Fall back to passwords only when passkeys are unavailable. Hash passwords with Argon2id (the current recommendation) or bcrypt with a cost factor of at least 12. Check passwords against breach databases like HaveIBeenPwned on registration.

Password Generators Still Matter

For services that still require passwords, generated random passwords remain the safest option. Use our Password Generator to create high-entropy passwords and our Password Hasher to verify your hashing implementation works correctly.