Your blog postHow to Check If Your Password Has Been Leaked Online (And What to Do About It)

It happens to careful people too

If you've ever wondered whether your details are 'out there' somewhere, you're not being paranoid — you're being sensible. Big, well-known companies get hit by data breaches fairly regularly, and it's rarely anything the customer did wrong.

A recent example: earlier this year, criminals used login details taken from an old data breach to access genuine customer accounts at a major UK retailer, placing real orders and collecting them in person before anyone noticed. The retailer's systems weren't broken into on the day — the accounts were opened with passwords that had been exposed elsewhere, sometimes years earlier.

The good news is that checking whether you're affected takes about thirty seconds, and fixing it is just as quick.

Step 1: Check with Have I Been Pwned

Have I Been Pwned is a free, well-respected tool used by security professionals worldwide. It doesn't ask for your password, and it doesn't try to sell you anything.

1. Go to haveibeenpwned.com

2. Type in your email address

3. Click the "pwned?" button

4. Read the result — it will either say "Good news, no pwnage found!" or list which breaches your email has appeared in
   

If your email does show up, don't panic. It simply means that at some point, a company you had an account with was breached — it doesn't mean someone is inside your accounts right now.

Step 2: Turn on your browser's built-in check

You don't need to remember to check manually every month — Chrome and Safari can now do this automatically.

In Google Chrome:

1. Click the three dots (top right) and go to Settings

2. Select "Autofill and passwords", then "Google Password Manager"

3. Look for "Password Checkup" and run it — Chrome will flag any saved passwords that have appeared in a breach
   

On an iPhone or iPad (Safari):

1. Go to Settings, then Passwords

2. Tap "Security Recommendations"

3. Safari will list any saved passwords that are weak, reused, or have appeared in a known leak
   

If you find a problem

• Change the password for that account straight away, using the site or app's own settings

• Never reuse the same password across shopping, email and banking accounts — a leak in one place shouldn't put the others at risk

• If you struggle to remember lots of different passwords, a password manager can generate and store them for you, so you only need to remember one main password
  

A note on extra protection

If you'd like an extra layer of everyday protection — not just for passwords, but for scam links and suspicious downloads too — security software such as Bitdefender can run quietly in the background and flag threats before they reach you. We may earn a small commission if you sign up through our link, at no extra cost to you. It's entirely optional, and the two free checks above are enough to get started.

You've got this

Checking your accounts like this isn't something you need to do often — once you've done it and tidied up any weak or repeated passwords, a quick check every six months or so is plenty. You're not behind, and you're certainly not alone in finding this stuff a bit much at first. Once it's done, it's done.

Next step: if you haven't already, read our guide on turning on two-step verification for an extra layer of protection on your most important accounts.

Need help choosing the right app?

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