A U.K. company is banking on emojis to make online passwords that are easier for millennials to remember.
Intelligent Environments has launched a feature in which customers, especially those in the 20-something age range, can choose a PIN code for online banking from a menu of 44 emojis.
In a press release, the company claims emoji passwords are “more secure” because there are more possible emoji permutations than 4-digit passcodes and because pictures are easier to remember than words.
Experts told BBC News that it could inspire hackers to ramp up their efforts to crack emoji codes, while others expressed concern that users who are not familiar with emojis would pick the first four images, making the passwords even more predictable — i.e. four smiling poop emojis as The Verge jokes.
Here Are the Funniest Error Pages on the Web
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Introducing the 2024 TIME100 Next
- The Reinvention of J.D. Vance
- How to Survive Election Season Without Losing Your Mind
- Welcome to the Golden Age of Scams
- Did the Pandemic Break Our Brains?
- The Many Lives of Jack Antonoff
- 33 True Crime Documentaries That Shaped the Genre
- Why Gut Health Issues Are More Common in Women
Write to Olivia B. Waxman at olivia.waxman@time.com