Is your password on the ‘most common’ list? You might be surprised

New research shows the most common passwords are not safe enough to protect individuals' data online, especially among younger users.

A new report suggests younger generations may have weaker passwords than their older counterparts.

And Canadians are among those using some of the most common passwords in their logins rather than more secure options.

NordPass, a password manager for business and consumer clients, released its list of the top 200 passwords for 2025 with the help of independent cybersecurity researchers. The data was collected from public data breaches and dark web repositories from September 2024 to September 2025.

The company says simple passwords are extremely easy to guess, yet many seem to ignore the warnings — including Canadians.

Topping the list of most common passwords in Canada overall was “admin,” followed by “123456,” then “gallant123,” followed by “password,” while “1hateyou” was the fifth most common.

Worldwide, the report finds the overall most common password is “123456,” followed by “admin” and “12345678” in third.

NordPass says what may be the most surprising is the use of common passwords among younger Canadians, who are more likely to have grown up immersed in the online world compared with older generations.

Researchers highlight that number combinations like “12345” are in the top spots across all age groups, and are more likely to be used by Gen Z and millennials, who appear less likely to use names in their passwords.