Sad reason you shouldn’t keep your passwords completely secret

The first piece of advice everyone gives you when it comes to passwords is to always keep them secure.

Nowadays, we're urged to lock our accounts behind long, complex strings of letters, numbers and special characters in order to keep us safe from hackers or prying eyes.

However, it turns out you shouldn't keep your passwords a secret from everyone, as that could turn out to make things even more complicated in the long run.

According to a recent discussion on Reddit, there's one person in particular you should trust with your passcodes.

And that person is your spouse, the person you chose to share your entire live with.

In a thread titled 'Let your spouse know your passwords', one user described why he shares everything with his wife.

"She doesn't need access, until she does," he wrote.

The Redditor went on to write that he had suffered a series of 'strokes' across the past couple of years, which made him realise the importance of making sure family members have access to important documents.

Explaining how he'd been in a difficult situation a few years prior with the death of his father, he continued: "When my dad died, we couldn't access his phone or online accounts. It was horrible.

"I trust my wife. I get some of you don't (why stay married?). It could make the difference in a very difficult time."

There's one person who you should be able to trust with your account details. (Sean Gladwell/ Getty Images)

It turns out the original poster isn't the only person who'd been in a difficult situation with a recently deceased loved one and their accounts.

"My partner passed away unexpectedly in September and I also highly recommend sharing your passwords/codes. I’m never going to be able to get into his phone or tablet and it makes me sad," one user wrote, while another added their family had been left with a 'CLUSTERF**K mess' after an uncle died.

"Everything had a password and nobody knew what they were. Years later and nobody (yes, even other IT people) has been able to get access to his desktop & other devices," they wrote.

"The pain of losing someone unexpectedly is awful, but adding a years-long hopeless hunt to access their things and make moving on and processing things even more difficult is such an unnecessary pain."

A loved one knowing your passwords will make the hopefully unlikely event of an emergency much easier. (Getty Stock Image)

However, for anyone not wanting to take the ultimate leap with their spouse or without any immediate family members to trust, turns out there's other ways you can prepare for the unthinkable.

Password managers can be one way you can keep access to your accounts safe, while others mentioned making sure you leave being clear instructions in your will.

Perhaps something to think about next time you're setting up your next phone password.

Topics: Technology, Reddit