What to Do If Your Password Is Insecure
If you are receiving a warning that your password has appeared in a data breach from another site and is no longer secure, you will need to change your password to a stronger one before you can log back in.
If you are still logged in on any device, please make sure your email address is up to date before logging out or resetting your password, or you may lose access to your account.
Check below the cut for information on how to check or update your email address, and how to change or reset your password.
Posted: 20:45 UTC 31 July, 2026
Please follow these steps to check and update your email address. If you don't know your password, or if your password is insecure, you will need to reset your password – which requires you to have access to your account's email address.
How do I check what my account’s email address is?
If you are logged in:
Go to your Preferences page (Select "Hi, [USERNAME]!" at the top of the page, and choose "My Preferences" from the drop-down list)
Click on the “Change Email” button at the top of the page
Your email address will be listed on that page, next to “Current email”
If you are not logged in:
Check your email account for recent emails from AO3, such as subscription notifications or kudos and comment emails.
Look at the “To:” field to see what email address is associated with your account.
You will need to enter this email address exactly as it is listed here in order to receive a password reset email. If you enter a slightly different version of your email address (e.g. "[email protected]" vs "[email protected]"), you will not receive the password reset email.
How do I change my email address? What if I don't have access to my old email address?
You don't need access to your old email address to change it to a new one, as long as you also know your current password.
Log in
Go to your Preferences page (Select "Hi, [USERNAME]!" at the top of the page, and choose "My Preferences" from the drop-down list)
Click on the “Change Email” button at the top of the page
In both the “New email” and “Enter new email again” fields, enter an email address that you have access to
In the “Password” field, enter your current password
Click the “Confirm Email” button
On the next page, make sure that the banner displays the correct new email address
Click the "Yes, Confirm Email" button
Check your new email address for an email titled “[AO3] Confirm your email change”
Click on the confirmation link in that email, making sure to open it in a browser where you are already logged in
Go to the “Change Email” page and double-check that your “Current email” has been successfully updated.
If you still see the banner saying your email change is pending, the most likely reason for this is that you were logged out before you clicked the confirmation link. Make sure to log in to your account before following the email confirmation link, or open the link in a browser where you are already logged in.
I know my current password, but I'm afraid my password is insecure. How can I change my password to a stronger one?
First, refer to the above instructions for checking or updating your email address, so that you can receive a password reset in case your password is insecure. Then:
Log in
Go to your Preferences page (Select "Hi, [USERNAME]!" at the top of the page, and choose "My Preferences" from the drop-down list)
Click on the “Change Password” button at the top of the page
Enter your current password into the “Old password” field
Enter your new password into both the “New password” and “Confirm new password” fields
Click the “Change Password” button
You will be automatically logged out on all devices.
If, upon logging in, you receive a message saying your password is insecure, then the new password you chose was insecure and you can't use it to log back in. You will need to reset your password (refer to the below instructions) and select a more secure password this time. You can use a password generator to choose a stronger password.
I don't know my current password/my password is insecure, but I know and have access to my account's email address.
In a private/incognito browser, go to the Reset Password page: https://archiveofourown.org/users/password/new (also available by clicking the “Forgot Password?” link on the login form)
Enter the email address associated with your AO3 account
Check your email for the password reset email
Click the “use this link to choose a new password” link in the email
Enter a new, secure password
You will be automatically logged in on this device, and automatically logged out on all other devices.
If you continue to receive the message that your password is insecure, then the new password you chose was also insecure. You will need to reset your password again and select a more secure password this time. You can use a password generator to choose a stronger password.
I tried resetting my password, but it didn't work. Help?
The most likely reasons the password reset didn't work are:
You are entering the wrong email address for your AO3 account. Refer to the above instructions on how to check what your account's email address is.
Your email provider is blocking emails from AO3 or sending them to spam/social folders. Search for an email titled “[AO3] Reset your password”.
Your email account doesn't have enough storage and can't receive new emails. You'll need to delete old emails, photos, or videos to empty your storage before requesting a password reset.
You requested multiple password resets in a short time period, resulting in either a “Retry later” page or the link in the first password reset email becoming invalid. Please wait at least one hour before trying again, only submit the form once, and make sure you are using the link in the most recent password reset email.
The new password you chose was insecure, so you can't use it to log back in. You will need to reset your password again and select a more secure password this time. You can use a password generator to choose a stronger password.
I don't know my password/my password is insecure, and I don't know or have access to my account's email address.
You will need to submit a Support ticket containing the following information:
your username
your account’s current email address (if you know it)
an email address that you can access and would like to update your account's email to (enter this email into the Email field so we can contact you)
Support will begin the account recovery process with you, which will ask you for further proof of account ownership. Please be patient, as there are many AO3 users who are also submitting account recovery tickets right now.
