With all the changes that are going on over at Twitter, it might be time to change your Twitter password (especially if you haven’t done so in a long time). There’s just one little thing: how exactly do you change your Twitter password?
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You might not see a handy button or quick shortcut on your homepage, but that’s okay. We’ll walk you through the process of changing your Twitter password in just a few simple steps. We’ve also included a series of pictures to help make the process even easier.
Would you feel safe if your house key or your car key was cut in the same exact pattern as 50,000 other people’s keys? The answer is definitely no. Why, then, do thousands of us willingly choose to reuse the same passwords?
Whether it be “123456789” or “Password1,” “123Qwerty” or “Guest,” there are countless passwords that practically let hackers and cyber criminals right through your virtual doors. Once you’ve learned how to change your Twitter password, we’ll go over the importance of changing it, as well as some tips and tricks to use for your next one.
How to Change Your Twitter Password
Here’s the simplest way to change your Twitter password. While this can be done multiple ways from multiple devices, doing it on a desktop is by far the easiest. However, the steps won’t be that different if done from Twitter for mobile. Here’s what you need to do to change your Twitter password in just three simple steps.
Step 1: Go to Settings and Privacy
First things first: go to the three dots labeled More at the bottom of the navigation bar on the left. You’ll find this beneath the Profile tab.
From there, click Settings and Support. This will bring down a drop-down menu. Click Settings and privacy on this menu.
Step 2: Go to Your Account Settings
Once on the Settings and privacy page, click Your account. This will take you to a page with all of your available account settings. Scroll down until you see a tab labeled Change your password.
You should see it underneath Account information. Click this, and get ready to enter your new password.
Step 3: Change Your Twitter Password
At last, the time has come for you to officially change your Twitter password. Simply enter your old password in the top spot, then type in your new password in the designated text box. Re-enter the new password below that, then click Save to save your changes. Now you’re all set.
Now, just because your password is changed doesn’t mean you’re in the clear just yet. Keep reading for tips on how often to change your password, info on why changing your password matters, and tips on what to change your password to.
Importance of Changing Your Password
You know you’re supposed to change your password. You know you’re supposed to do it often, too. But odds are, if you’re anything like us, you probably let this important task fall by the wayside more often than not.
It’s so much easier to just stick with what you know, right? Especially across multiple accounts and websites. However, “ease” is hardly the same thing as “safety.”
Just because it’s easier to use the same login info across all your social media, banking, and personal accounts doesn’t mean it’s safe. As a matter of fact, it’s the riskiest thing you can do. Here’s how to change that.
1. Prevent Widespread Breaches
2. Keep Your Info Safe, Even During Leaks
Another reason to change your passwords regularly? Leaks. They happen far too often for comfort, and once they’re out there, they’re not going to disappear from the internet anytime soon.
If you continue to use a variation of a previously leaked password (and, odds are, your passwords have already been leaked once, twice, maybe even several times), you’re once again making the job of hacking you even easier. Those bad guys determined to obtain your info will be stopped in their tracks if you switch up those passwords every time.
3. Make Things Harder on Hackers
This leads directly to the next point, which is that changing your passwords ultimately makes things a lot harder for hackers. Instead of adding punctuation or a capital letter to your old password, go with something completely different instead.
Most Commonly Used Passwords
As a rule of thumb, you should definitely steer clear of any one of these ten most commonly used passwords. These are the ones that hackers and cybercriminals are going to run through first.
To use one of these for your Twitter password — or, worse, your full suite of passwords — would definitely be a mistake. (These stats come straight from NordPass, a trusted password manager site. We’ll touch on those below.)
- password123456123456789guestqwerty1234567811111112345col123456123123
Your average hacker or cyber criminal’s software will be able to crack these in less than a second. There are hundreds of similar passwords that fall under the most commonly used, all equally obvious. If you’re guilty of doing this, don’t worry. Just follow along with the password security tips listed below.
Password Security Tips
With safe, reliable password managers readily available to you — oftentimes completely free of charge — there’s really no excuse not to change your passwords regularly. Still, even if you understand the importance of making these routine changes, you might not know how to make your passwords as secure as can be.
Luckily, these helpful tips should make the job easy as pie. Follow along with these password security tips below, and make sure to put them into action. It’s about more than just your social media accounts — this is for the protection of your most personal, private info too.
1. Change Your Password Regularly
As a general rule of thumb, cybersecurity experts suggest changing your password at least once every three months. Some might say as often as six weeks, just to be safe, but you can generally get away with every three months and still remain safe.
Any longer than this, however, and each new day you run an even greater risk of having your accounts compromised. Cybersecurity experts at all the top sites work hard to protect your accounts, but cybercriminals work harder to break down that protection. Make that password change every three months, no later. No exceptions.
2. Use Two-Factor Authentication
Even if you keep up with the routine three-month changes, you can still be doing more to keep your accounts safe. Three words: two-factor authentication. This is the official term for when the site texts, emails, or messages you a code for you to enter in addition to your password.
Even with the strongest, safest, most routinely changed password, two-factor authentication elevates your account security to new (and nearly impenetrable) heights. With two-factor authentication enabled, you can rest easy knowing that even if your password is leaked, hackers would also need a special code to get in.
3. Choose Long, Complex Passwords
Last but not least, choosing long and complex passwords (or even passphrases) can be the last additional step your account needs to remain safe and secure. The longer and more complex, the better.
When used with two-factor authentication and a combination of letters, numbers, uppercase, lowercase, spaces, and symbols, you can know with absolute certainty that no hacker or cybercriminal will be gaining entry to your account anytime soon. Knowing these tips will effectively give you the ability to protect yourself and your info like never before.
