How to create a password you can remember

Start with a memory, then consider who could guess it

To create a memorable password, you need something you can recall without making it obvious to someone else. A sentence gives you a scene to remember. The harder part is choosing ingredients that another person would not readily guess.

BitSize’s memorable password generator combines memory hooks into a sentence. These are associations you supply, such as a place or a particular colour. The tool helps with the wording; it cannot tell whether the details are private. A long sentence about your publicly named dog can still be a poor choice.

If you do not need to remember the password yourself, a password manager can generate and store a long, unique random password. Use a passkey where available, or add multifactor authentication to help protect the account.

Choose private associations, not a public biography

Use at least three different hooks from the six fields: a name, something you have loved, a colour, a place, a number, and a song. Leave fields blank when you do not have a suitable choice. More filled boxes do not automatically mean a stronger result.

• Avoid birthdays, usernames, a public pet name, and other details someone could find on a profile.
• Avoid familiar quotations, famous lyrics, and predictable number sequences. A song that means something to you may still be well known to everybody else.
• Choose associations you can picture but would not expect another person to connect. Treat personal familiarity and secrecy as separate things.
• Do not enter an existing password into the memory-hook fields. Start with new ingredients for this account.

A fictional example of the method

Suppose the fictional hooks are Rowan, bicycles, and burnt orange. One possible result is “rowan-loves-burnt-orange-bicycles”. Picture Rowan riding a burnt-orange bicycle: that scene helps explain why a sentence can be easier to recall than unrelated characters.

This example demonstrates the method, not a recommended password. It is now public, and its ingredients are ordinary words. Do not use it, or assume that adding a number would make it safe.

A generated sentence may use only some of your hooks. Read the actual result before accepting it. A hook you entered but that does not appear in the sentence cannot contribute to that password’s strength.

Create and review your own sentence

The tool runs in your browser. Your hooks and results are not sent to BitSize or saved by the tool.

1. Enter at least three distinct hooks, then choose Generate password.
2. Read the complete sentence. Make sure its associations are memorable to you and not obvious to someone who knows you.
3. Try another sentence if the construction does not stick. Adjust the word limit to explore complete shorter or longer sentences.
4. Check the displayed strength estimate for the result you actually intend to use. Change weak or predictable ingredients rather than just adding familiar filler.
5. Copy the chosen result and check that the destination accepts its length and characters. If you must change it, do not assume the original strength estimate still applies.

Try the memorable password generator

Treat the strength label as an estimate

The tool checks both the generated sentence and the hooks used in it. Fixed connecting words and predictable punctuation do not earn extra strength credit. This is a memory-based sentence generator, not a generator of independently random words.

A “Strong” result is an estimate, not a guarantee. The checker cannot know that somebody knows your old address or your favourite song. It also cannot protect against phishing, password reuse, or a compromised device.

Use a different password for each account. For accounts protected by a password, a password manager and multifactor authentication remain useful even when your password is easy to remember.

Read NIST’s guidance on passwords, password managers and passkeys