Passphrase Generator makes random passwords out of words, like Mango-Ruby-Tidal-Lunar-Spout-3. They are long and strong, yet much easier to remember and type than a jumble of symbols. Choose 3 to 10 words, a separator, capitals and an extra number, and see the strength in bits. Words are picked by your browser’s cryptographic random generator and nothing is stored or sent.
How to make a passphrase
- The generator opens in Passphrase (words) mode.
- Set the number of Words. Six or more is a good start.
- Choose a Separator: hyphen, space, dot, underscore or none.
- Tick Capitalise words and Add a number if a site requires capitals and digits.
- Click Copy, or New passphrase for another. Use Make many at once to pick from a list.
Strength by number of words
| Words | Strength | Time to crack at 100 billion guesses a second |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | about 41 bits | about a minute |
| 5 | about 52 bits | about a day |
| 6 | about 62 bits | most of a year |
| 7 | about 72 bits | about a thousand years |
| 8 | about 83 bits | more than a million years |
| 10 | about 103 bits | more than a million years |
The figures assume an attacker knows you used this exact word list and tries every combination. The separator and capitals add little, because they follow a fixed pattern; extra words are what make a passphrase strong.
Where passphrases work best
- Master password for a password manager: eight words or more.
- Computer and phone login, typed every day: six or seven words.
- Wi-Fi password you read out to guests: five or six words with spaces or hyphens.
- Disk encryption and backup keys: eight words or more, written down and kept safe.
For accounts you never type yourself, a random password stored in a password manager is just as good. Switch to Random password for that.
The word list
Words come from the EFF short word list published by the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Its 1,296 words are short, common and easy to spell.
Remembering it
Make a picture in your head from the words in order, a mango with a ruby on a tidal wave. Type it a few times on the first day, and keep a written copy somewhere safe until it sticks.