Creating Strong But Memorable Passwords with Inkblots

Inkblot Passwords is a Microsoft Research project that helps users create and remember strong passwords through a set of visual clues.

To create a password, you are a shown a random set of images - you look at each of the image, think of some associated object and them type the first and last character of that object’s name.

random strong password

For instance, if the first picture is of a black cat, you can type “bt” in the password field. You then advance to the next picture and so on to create a 20 character random and strong password.

Whenever you are asked to log in, you will be presented with the same images (inkblots) to remind you of your associations.

Though it may be tough for most of us to rely on memory for such long passwords, the research paper says that most users find the mental images they associate with the inkblots hard to forget.

InkblotPassword.com | Inkblot Authentication [PDF]

Amit Agarwal

Amit Agarwal

Google Developer Expert, Google Cloud Champion

Amit Agarwal is a Google Developer Expert in Google Workspace and Google Apps Script. He holds an engineering degree in Computer Science (I.I.T.) and is the first professional blogger in India.

Amit has developed several popular Google add-ons including Mail Merge for Gmail and Document Studio. Read more on Lifehacker and YourStory

Awards & Titles

Digital Inspiration has won several awards since it's launch in 2004.

Google Developer Expert

Google Developer Expert

Google awarded us the Google Developer Expert award recogizing our work in Google Workspace.

ProductHunt Golden Kitty

ProductHunt Golden Kitty

Our Gmail tool won the Lifehack of the Year award at ProductHunt Golden Kitty Awards in 2017.

Microsoft MVP Alumni

Microsoft MVP Alumni

Microsoft awarded us the Most Valuable Professional (MVP) title for 5 years in a row.

Google Cloud Champion

Google Cloud Champion

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