Self-reported Password Sharing Strategies

This paper contributes to the growing body of literature on privacy and security by looking at self-reported password sharing practices. 62 men and 60 women recruited through a combination of snowball sampling and small ads answered a series of open-ended questions about their password sharing strategies. One third of respondants shared their personal email password, and a quarter shared their Facebook password, both primarily with partners and close friends. Approximately 20 % of people who had work email passwords reported sharing them with colleagues. These results support understanding password sharing not as a deviant practice to be stamped out, but rather a nuanced practice engaged in with thought and care.