The Survey Room

You can learn a lot from data, which is why Bitwarden regularly conducts original, third-party survey research. The data in these surveys represents the opinions of IT decision makers, internet users across the globe, and the Bitwarden community. It also includes grade-based evaluations of federal agencies and businesses from the Bitwarden team.

Topics explored range from enterprise password management preferences to the state of password security among U.S. federal agencies and cybersecurity agencies around the world to the security-friendliness of U.S. social media company password systems.

We encourage you to take your time and read through the blogs, full result reports, and where applicable, presentations. Future surveys and reports will be reflected on this page.

The research and advisory firm 451 Research, part of S&P Global Market Intelligence, commissioned a global survey of IT decision makers in 2022 to understand enterprise password management preferences and adoption trends. The study focused on midsize to large enterprises with more than 1,000 employees; 27% of respondents work for organizations with more than 10,000 employees.

Key findings:

• 57% of respondents used password management and another 15% said they would be adopting password management

• Almost all (93%) said they were maintaining or increasing their password management budgets

Check out the full results, or read the overview and blog for more details.

In 2023, Bitwarden research assessed the state of password security among U.S. federal agencies. Bitwarden devised a Password Security Ratings System, which ranked agencies along a spectrum.

Check out the resource page or view the presentation for more information.

2023

The third annual Bitwarden 2023 Password Decisions Survey polled independent IT decision-makers across a range of industries who play a key role in enterprise purchasing decisions. Findings showed that security concerns are influencing business decisions.

Slide 7, 2023 Password Decisions Survey

Key findings:

• 49% of respondents are deploying or have plans to deploy passwordless technology

• A large majority (79%) of IT decision makers want their employer to require employees to use the same password manager across the organization

• 60% report their organization experienced a cyberattack within the past year

Check out the full results or read the blog for a more in-depth analysis of the survey results.

2022

The second annual Bitwarden 2022 Password Decisions Survey polling 400 IT decision makers in the U.S. found that passwords had gone mainstream - but overall password practices reveal security vulnerabilities.

Slide 6, Password Decisions Survey 2022

Key findings:

• 86% report password managers are being used within their organization

• Almost all (92%) reuse passwords across multiple sites

Check out the full results and read the blog for details.

2021

In the midst of the remote work transformation, the Bitwarden 2021 Passwords Decisions Survey polled 400 U.S.-based IT decision makers about their password preferences and the challenges and opportunities of security best practices.

Slide 9, Password Decisions Survey 2021

Key findings:

• 77 percent are using documents, spreadsheets, or a notepad to keep track of passwords

• 80 percent want their employers to mandate the practice of using a password manager

Check out the full results and blog.

2023

For the third annual World Password Day Survey, Bitwarden surveyed over 2,000 internet users globally (United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, France, and Japan) on their password security practices. Additionally, the 2023 survey included questions about passwordless technology.

Slide 7, World Password Day 2023 Survey

Key findings:

• 56% are excited about passwordless authentication options such as biometrics, passkeys, or security keys

• Best practices are still diluted by bad habits, with 85% reusing passwords across multiple sites and 58% relying on memory for their passwords

• 52% use easily identifiable information in their passwords, such as company/brand names, well-known song lyrics, pet names, and names of loved ones

Check out the full results and resource page.

2022

Coinciding with World Password Day, Bitwarden again conducted a global survey of internet users to understand the state of password management. The survey polled over 2,000 respondents in five countries: the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and Australia.

Slide 22, World Password Day 2022 Survey

Key findings:

• Almost one fifth (21%) reset their passwords every day or multiple times a week

• A majority (84%) reuse passwords across more than 1 site

Check out the full results or read the blog.

2021

Leading up to World Password Day 2021, Bitwarden conducted a global survey of internet users to understand the state of password management. The survey polled over 1600 respondents in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, and Australia.

Slide 7, World Password Day Survey 2021

Key findings:

• A quarter (24%) have been affected by a data breach in the last 18 months

• The majority (59%) rely on their memory to remember passwords

Check out the full results and blog.

2023

For the third annual Data Privacy Week survey, Bitwarden polled the Bitwarden community on its favorite privacy-centric tools. Over 2,700 users were surveyed.

Key findings:

• Brave is catching up: this year Brave secured 40% of the vote for favorite secure browser, but Firefox remains the #1 pick with 45% of the vote

• 37% favor SimpleLogin as their favorite secure email alias, but there are several other popular options as well

• Selected by 52%, DuckDuckGo is the most popular search engine

Check out the full results and read the blog for more information.

2022

For the second year in a row, Bitwarden polled the Bitwarden community on its favorite data privacy apps. Over 1,800 users were surveyed.

Key findings:

• 63% favor ProtonMail as the privacy-first email provider of choice

• In a sign of the times, 24% selected Jitsi as the #1 video conferencing tool

Check out the full results.

2021

Inspired by Data Privacy Day in 2021, Bitwarden polled the Bitwarden community about its favorite data privacy-oriented apps. Over 700 Bitwarden users were surveyed.

Slide 6, Data Privacy Day Survey 2021

Key findings:

• Firefox rules: an overwhelming 49% chose Firefox as their favorite browser, with Brave second at 19%

• Selected by 60%, Signal is #1 messaging app

Check out the full results.

Social Media Edition

Relying on an end user research-driven approach, Bitwarden research evaluated the security-friendliness of the top 5 (defined by number of users) U.S. social media company password systems. The assessment includes a grade for each of the platforms evaluated.

Check out the blog to see how the leading companies in the U.S. scored.

Banking Edition

Relying on the same end user research-driven approach, Bitwarden research evaluated the security-friendliness of the top 5 (ranked by assets held) U.S. banks. The assessment includes a grade for each of the top platforms evaluated.

Check out the blog to see how the leading banks in the U.S. scored.

E-Commerce Edition

Following the same end user research-driven approach, we recently explored e-commerce. We narrowed our research list to the top 5 e-commerce sites in the United States ranked by total web traffic, which we identified as Amazon; eBay; Walmart; Craigslist; and Etsy.

Check out the blog to see how the top e-commerce sites performed.

Streaming Services Edition

Following the same end user research-driven approach, we recently explored streaming services. So, how are streaming services enabling (or not) the password security postures of their customers?

Check out the blog to find out how the top streaming services scored.

Personal Email Services Edition

Nearly everyone uses a personal email service, which is why it’s particularly important that email services easily utilize strong and unique passwords. Is your personal email service password-friendly?

Check out the blog to find out how the most popular email services scored.

Health and Fitness Apps

Fitness app revenue skyrocketed between 2016 and 2021, no doubt in part due to pandemic-induced gym closures. But do fitness applications allow consumers to easily utilize strong and unique passwords?

Check out the blog to find out how the most popular health and fitness apps scored.

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Top 4 End-Users of Password Managers

View infographic