The Most Common 4-digit PIN numbers

Pin Point: The Most Common 4-digit PIN numbers by Information is Beautiful was a redesign of Nick Berry’s original work. Having a pin that’s easy for you to remember, could also be an easy one to guess. Check out this infographic and see how safe your favorite PIN may be.

Chip and PIN card, phone passcode, hotel safe – how predictable is your chosen PIN number?

3.4 million data points visualized from several data breaches.

Created by the late great Nick Berry of Data Genetics (redesigned and used with permission). He wrote a great data story around this which is also worth a read.

I really like this heatmap. Visually, it reveals a number of insights from the data:

• The diagonal line shows the PINs where two digits are repeated to create a 4-digit PIN. 1111, 3434, 5050, etc.

• The lower left corner is brighter with PINs starting with low numbers, generally representing dates. The section goes to the right up to the number 31, representing the day. Birthdays, anniversaries, etc.

• There is a bright horizontal line of PINs starting with “19” the wraps into a line starting with “20”, representing a year that someone has chosen for some significance. Birth year, wedding, graduation, etc.

• The black squares are the least used PIN numbers, also listed at the bottom of the infographic.

Found on Information is Beautiful.