Ah, passwords. The digital equivalent of a house key—except instead of just locking your door, they’re also guarding your bank account, social media, embarrassing teenage fanfiction, and the secret shopping cart you abandon when reality kicks in.
And yet, despite knowing how important passwords are, some people still think it’s perfectly fine to share them via WhatsApp, text message, or (heaven forbid) a group chat.
If there’s one thing cybercriminals love, it’s people making their job easier. Sending your email password in a text message is like leaving your house key under the doormat in an envelope that says, “Hope you don’t rob me!” If your phone gets hacked, your messages are often the first thing cyber thieves dig through, and what’s better than finding an all-you-can-steal buffet of passwords?
Mistakes happen, and far more often in messaging that emails. For example: you meant to send your password to your mate, but instead, you sent it to the family group chat. Now your Aunt Susan is asking if “BigBooty2024” is the Wi-Fi password, and your dad is texting back “What’s OF?” Some mistakes can never be undone.
People screenshot everything. If you send a password via message, you have no control over what happens next. Will your friend keep it safe? Will they accidentally screenshot it and upload it to their Instagram story? Will their phone get stolen by a guy named Vlad who now has access to your entire life? Who knows! But do you really want to take that risk?
Instead of texting passwords like a reckless digital cowboy, use a password manager. These handy little apps store and encrypt your passwords so you don’t have to. If you absolutely must share a password, use a secure password-sharing tool or, at the very least, a self-destructing encrypted message service (and then say a quick prayer to the cybersecurity gods).
Picture this: You’re locked out of your email. You go to reset your password, but you can’t because your recovery email has also been compromised (thanks to that WhatsApp message you sent last year). Now, instead of responding to emails, you’re responding to your bank’s fraud department and trying to explain why someone in Latvia just bought three jet skis in your name.
Don’t text, WhatsApp, or DM your passwords. Ever. Not even “just this once.”
Because once is all it takes to become the main character in a cybersecurity horror story.
Be smart, stay safe, and for the love of all things digital and my personal sanity, stop asking people to send passwords like they’re lunch invites !!
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya
