Where in the USA Forgets Their Passwords the Most in 2023

National Computer Security Day lands on November 30^th, having first been coined way back in 1988. Back then, computers were not exactly commonplace, but nowadays, it’s not uncommon for households to have multiple computers alongside smartphones and tablets. Communication is definitely a lot easier than it was back then, but with these technological advancements, we have additional privacy and security concerns. 

And while we now have easy access to the tools for communication, there are just as many platforms to do it on. From Facebook to Snapchat to a good old-fashioned email, the possibilities for chatting with friends and family are plentiful. However, with new password measures seemingly being added by the day – you know, the really annoying stuff like having to add a unique character and 25 numbers – it can be easy to forget your security details, especially with so many different things to log in to. 

So, with National Security Day in mind, our research and analytics team decided it would be an appropriate time to find where in the United States forgets their security details (passwords) the most. For the purposes of the study, we measured the search volume for some common phrases, such as “I forgot my password” and “how to reset password”, alongside bespoke data per state to find out which platform causes the biggest headaches in terms of forgetting login details. We took a break from reviewing US casino sites to do this, but we'll get right back to it.

What Do the Results Tell Us?

Mississippi natives are the most forgetful in the US, with an overall search score of 565 (out of 600). They are followed by those from West Virginia (527), with Arkansas closely behind in third (511).  

Meanwhile, Vermont is the second least forgetful state, with Wyoming, North Dakota, and Maine also not searching for associated keywords as much as other states. 

What About The Platforms? 

In terms of overall search volume, US citizens forget their Apple ID password more than any other platform measured. Gmail was second, with Spotify rounding off the top three. 

24 states in total had Apple ID as their most highly searched in terms of forgot password keyword, followed by Gmail with seven, Snapchat with five, Spotify and Discord with two, and Netflix, Instagram, and Hotmail with one each.

Surprisingly, Facebook did not appear at the top of any state rankings, although it featured 11 times in total in the top three lists. 

Methodology:

We used Google Trends to measure six keyword phrases relating to forgetting password details, alongside data for specific platforms. The data and associated keywords can be found in the tables below. 

Data was collected over a 12-month period from November 10, 2022 - November 11, 2023