Click to Enter: Comparing Graphical and Textual Passwords for Children

Abstract

This work outlines a study comparing graphical and textual passwords. A study was conducted with 13 children between the ages of six and twelve years old. These participants created their own textual and graphical passwords for fictional Web sites and after two weeks, participants returned and attempted to recall the usernames and passwords that they created. Our preliminary results showed that graphical passwords had a lower success rate and participants were less likely to access their accounts when using graphical passwords. Whether using graphical or textual passwords, children succeeded with generalities, but struggled with specifics.