A password that is secure, you don’t need to write down, and can be regenerated easily if you ever forget it

Imagine you need a new password. You sit on your favourite bench in the local park, press generate, and create a unique password based on your exact location.

A year later, you realise you have forgetten that password so you go back to the same park bench, press regenerate, and the exact same password appears.

You don’t need to write your password down, to store it in a password manager, and you don’t need a password hint. You simply remember the location it was based on and you can recreate it again at any time

This is a new services from PlacePass.me. You simply pick a location – either a virtual location on the map or go to a physical location – then add a PIN number of your chosing and and click generate. You get a strong, complex password based on the three word What3Words location code. And becuase it’s based on three words, it’s also easy to remember.

But even better than that, if you ever forget the password, you can recreate it by using the exact same location and PIN. This removes the need for insecure written notes or complex password managers.

The theory behind this idea is that your physical memory works in a different way to abstract memory. Trying to remember a random string of letters, numbers and special characters can be almost impossible, but remembering a physical location is much more natural.

From a security perspective, writing down passwords is not secure, and password managers aren’t always easy or intuitive to use. Simply remembering a location combined with a PIN number means you don’t need to ever write down the password to be able to keep it.

Try it for yourself – go to placepass.me and pick a memorable spot to generate your next password.