Top 2025 Password Fails: Discover the Worst Passwords Used by the French!

The overall quality of passwords, both in France and globally, continues to be poor across all age groups. This was highlighted in the most recent annual report by NordPass, conducted in collaboration with NordStellar and independent cybersecurity incident researchers. The study, which analyzed recent public data breaches and dark web repositories from September 2024 to September 2025, also segmented the data by country to highlight specific regional trends and vulnerabilities.

This year’s report also aimed to better understand the differences in password practices among Generation Z, Millennials, Generation X, and Baby Boomers, concluding that poor password habits persist across generations.

Access the full study

“admin” is the most used password in France

For the seventh consecutive year, NordPass has found that users continue to choose weak passwords. In France, the most common combinations are alarmingly simple: “admin” leads the list, followed by “123456”, “password”, and “azerty”. Notably, “123456”, which once again has been named the most used password worldwide, ranks second in France.

While some French users show creativity—with passwords like “canabis” (20th), “gazeuses” (17th), and “poisson” (14th) appearing in the rankings—most still opt for basic numeric sequences or keyboard patterns, such as “111111”, “12345678910”, or “azertyuiop”. However, affectionate nicknames like “chouchou”, “loulou”, or “doudou”, which were prominent in the previous study, seem to have fallen out of favor.

Despite significant annual efforts to educate users on cybersecurity through awareness campaigns, our data shows that general habits regarding password security and hygiene have not improved much, laments NordPass.

Here are the most frequently used passwords by the French in 2025:

Password security is still inadequate “across all generations”

The study also presents a concerning fact: the “digital native myth,” the idea that those raised in a connected world inherently understand the risks associated with weak passwords, simply does not exist. “In reality, the password habits of an 18-year-old are strikingly similar to those of an 80-year-old,” explains NordPass.

For example, “12345” and “123456” are the most used passwords across all generations, from Millennials to Baby Boomers and Generation Z. “Other simple numeric sequences also top the global list, such as ‘1234567’ or ‘1234567890’,” adds the company.

NordPass’s recommendations to enhance your password security

To reverse this trend, NordPass offers several tips each year to enhance the security of your accounts:

• Create strong passwords: A “strong” password should be at least eight characters long and include a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
• Never recycle passwords: To prevent a single account breach from leading to further unauthorized access, it’s advised to use a unique password for each platform.
• Regularly review your passwords: Old, reused, or weak passwords should be replaced with stronger ones at regular intervals.
• Enable multi-factor authentication: This additional layer of security, which requires identity confirmation at each login, “will make it harder for cybercriminals to succeed,” notes NordPass.
• Use a password manager: By centralizing, securing, and generating your credentials, these tools protect against hacking while simplifying your daily routine as they automatically fill in login fields.