A password manager has revealed that “123456” remains the most popular password in the Philippines for 2025, continuing its dominance from the previous year.
Research by NordPass found that “123456” topped the list of the most commonly used passwords in the country, a trend that also held in their 2024 report.
Aside from “123456,” the other 19 most commonly used passwords in the Philippines are:
- Gonzales56
- admin
- 12345678
- 123456789
- password
- 12345678910
- 12345
- 1234567890
- admin123
- Password
- 1234567
- learning
- smartbro
- 123123
- P@ssw0rd
- Aa123123
- qwerty123
- 123qwe
- abc123
The report concluded that words, number combinations, and common keyboard patterns dominate the Philippines’ Top 20 most common passwords, noting that Filipinos tend to use simple variations of letters and numbers.
It also found that different variations of the word “password” appeared in three spots on the list, while numeric combinations made up eight entries.
“Although cybersecurity experts keep repeating that simple passwords are extremely easy to guess using a dictionary and brute-force attacks, Filipinos seem to ignore the warnings,” the report read.
The report also noted that “123456” is the most common password globally, not just in the Philippines.
“The word ‘password’ remains one of the most popular passwords worldwide. It’s used both in English form and in local languages in nearly every country we studied — from Slovak ‘heslo’ and Finnish ‘salasana’ to French ‘motdepasse’ and Spanish ‘contraseña,'” the report said.
Apart from that, other commonly used global passwords that also appeared on the Philippines’ list included “admin” and “12345678.”
Karolis Arbaciauskas, head of Product at NordPass, warned that the data shows “only minor improvements in password hygiene” despite ongoing efforts in cybersecurity education and digital awareness.
“Strong passwords are very important. Especially since around 80% of data breaches are caused by compromised, weak, and reused passwords, and criminals intensify their attacks till they can,” he said.
Password safety tips
Arbaciauskas also shared tips for digital natives on how to improve their digital hygiene and avoid falling victim to cyberattacks caused by poor password management.
The recommendations are as follows:
- Strong random passwords or passphrases — Passwords should be at least 20 characters long and consist of a random combination of numbers, letters, and special characters.
- Never reuse passwords — Each account should have a unique password because if one account gets stolen, hackers can use the same credentials for other accounts.
- Review your passwords — Regularly check their health by identifying any weak, old, or reused ones and upgrading them to new, complex passwords for a safer online experience.
- Use a password manager — Password managers can help generate, store, review, and safely manage all passwords, ensuring they’re well-protected, difficult to crack, and easily available when you need them.
- Turn on Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) — It adds an extra layer of security and helps keep hackers out, even if a password gets breached.
A password is a sequence of characters that a user enters to access a computer system, device, or account. It serves as a digital key, protecting private information from unauthorized access.
