Facebook passwords can contain both letters and numbers. The exact requirements for Facebook passwords have changed over time as Facebook has updated their security policies. However, most Facebook passwords follow general password best practices, containing a mix of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
Facebook Password Requirements
Here are the current requirements for Facebook passwords:
- Must be at least 6 characters long
- Can contain letters, numbers, and punctuation
- Cannot contain personal info like name or birthday
So a valid Facebook password can be any combination of letters, numbers, and allowed punctuation characters that meets the 6 character minimum length policy. There is no set maximum length.
Standard Password Best Practices
While Facebook does not enforce some standard password best practices, these are generally recommended for strong passwords on any website:
- At least 8 characters long
- Mix of uppercase and lowercase letters
- Contains numbers
- Includes symbols
Following these standard password practices allows for many more possible permutations and makes passwords much harder for hackers to crack.
Password Character Types
When considering the number of possible letters, numbers, and symbols in a password, here are some guidelines:
Letters
There are 26 possible lowercase letters to choose from:
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
There are 26 possible uppercase letters:
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
So there are 52 total possible letter characters.
Numbers
There are 10 numeric digits to choose from:
0123456789
Symbols
There are around 30 common symbols used in passwords:
!, @, #, $, %, ^, &, *, (, ), -, _, +, =, [, ], \, {, }, |, :, ;, “, ‘, <, >, ., ?, /
Total Character Pool
So in total, when considering uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and common symbols, there are approximately:
- 52 possible letters
- 10 possible numbers
- 30 possible symbols
This gives 92 possible characters that can be used in a password.
Password Length Possibilities
Given the character pool of 92 possible letters, numbers, and symbols, here are some examples of possible permutations based on password length:
6 Character Passwords
With 92 possible characters and a length of 6, there are:
926 = 3,521,614,606,208 possible 6-character passwords
This satisfies the Facebook minimum requirement.
8 Character Passwords
With 92 possible characters and a length of 8, there are:
928 = 73,787,331,622,016 possible 8-character passwords
This follows the standard recommendation of using at least an 8 character password.
10 Character Passwords
With 92 possible characters and a length of 10, there are:
9210 = 8,392,996,688,775,552 possible 10-character passwords
Increasing to 10 characters provides a massive number of possibilities.
12 Character Passwords
With 92 possible characters and a length of 12, there are:
9212 = 771,837,836,511,027,389,184 possible 12-character passwords
A 12 character password using all character types is very secure.
Examples of Possible Passwords
Here are some examples of possible 8 character Facebook passwords using different combinations of letters, numbers, and symbols:
| Ab3d!765 |
| XYz90@!# |
| Mer5236) |
| aBc123$* |
These example passwords use the full range of letters, numbers, and symbols available. This makes them difficult to crack through guessing or brute force.
Password Complexity Increases Security
In summary, by increasing password length and using a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols it is possible to create extremely complex Facebook passwords.
A 6 character password meets the Facebook minimum requirement but provides relatively little security. An 8+ character password following best practices offers excellent security. And a 10 or 12+ character password using all character types is extremely difficult for hackers to break.
The more types of characters, and greater length, increases the complexity and security of any password. So using the full range of letters, numbers, and symbols available is always recommended to maximize Facebook password security.
Conclusion
There are approximately 92 possible letters, numbers, and symbols that can be used in a Facebook password. With the Facebook minimum password length of 6 characters, there are over 3.5 billion possible 6-character passwords. This number grows exponentially as password length increases.
To create a secure password, always use 8+ characters, a healthy mix of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Following password best practices ensures your Facebook account stays protected from unauthorized access. A password manager can help generate and store strong, unique passwords for all your accounts.