Password generator

This password generator shows a strong password as soon as the page opens: 16 characters drawn at random from lower case, upper case, digits and 32 symbols, about 104 bits of entropy, well above the 80 bits that the CNIL, France's data protection authority, requires for a password used on its own. To use it, set the length with the slider, untick Symbols if the website rejects them, then click Copy and paste the result into the sign-up form or your password manager. The Passphrase tab draws common English words instead: 8 words from a list of 2,138 give about 88 bits and are much easier to remember and type. The gauge shows the level reached after every change. The main limit: a random password cannot be memorised, so you need a password manager to keep it.

If you live or work in France, two public bodies set the reference. The CNIL (Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés, the data protection regulator) published deliberation 2022-100 on 21 July 2022. For a password used alone, it sets a minimum of 80 bits of entropy and gives equivalents: at least 12 characters with upper case, lower case, digits and special characters taken from a set of at least 37 signs; at least 14 characters with upper case, lower case and digits; or a passphrase of at least 7 words. The threshold drops to 50 bits when the site limits the number of attempts.

The ANSSI (Agence nationale de la sécurité des systèmes d'information, the national cybersecurity agency) links length and strength in its 2021 guide for a 90-character set: 9 to 11 characters for about 65 bits, 12 to 14 for about 85 bits, 15 or more for 100 bits and above. For passwords that never need to be remembered, it recommends a very long length, for example more than 20 characters, and it describes passphrases as a good alternative. Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr, the government victim support service, adds one password per account, a password manager and two-factor authentication wherever it is offered.

With this generator, the symbols are the 32 punctuation signs of a standard US keyboard (ASCII), fewer than the 37 in the CNIL example, so 12 characters of four types give about 78 bits: choose 13 or more. For a passphrase, each word from the English list brings 11.1 bits, so 8 words pass 80 bits, one more than the CNIL equivalent, which assumes a longer dictionary. Use this on accounts that matter in France too: your impots.gouv.fr tax space, your ameli health insurance account or your bank.

Entropy counts how many passwords are possible with the same settings, expressed as a power of 2. A 16-character password drawn from 94 signs can take 94¹⁶ values, about 2¹⁰⁵, so its entropy is 105 bits. Each extra bit doubles the number of guesses an attacker would need in the worst case. With the option "at least one of each type", the tool counts exactly the combinations that follow the rule, which removes a fraction of a bit.

For a passphrase, each word adds log₂ of the list size; the digit adds its value and its position. A capital letter at the start of every word adds nothing because it is systematic. As the ANSSI points out, this sum only holds if every character or word is truly random: a sentence you make up, a quotation or a dictionary word with a few letters swapped is worth far less than the formula suggests.

Randomness comes from crypto.getRandomValues, the browser's cryptographic generator, with rejection sampling so every character has exactly the same chance of coming out. Nothing is sent or stored, and the page keeps working offline once loaded.

Nobody remembers 16 random characters, and that is not the goal. A password manager keeps them encrypted and fills them in for you; you only remember the one secret that opens it, which is where an 8-word passphrase belongs. Then turn on two-factor authentication for email, banking and government accounts such as FranceConnect, so a leaked password is no longer enough to get in. Never reuse a password on two sites. To practise typing a long passphrase, try the typing speed test, and to check the length of a text, use the word counter.

• CNIL, Mots de passe : recommandations pour maîtriser sa sécurité (Passwords: recommendations to control your security, deliberation 2022-100), page read on 27 October 2026.
• ANSSI, Recommandations relatives à l'authentification multifacteur et aux mots de passe (Recommendations on multi-factor authentication and passwords, guide ANSSI-PG-078), page read on 27 October 2026.
• Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr, Pourquoi et comment bien gérer ses mots de passe ? (Why and how to manage your passwords), page read on 27 October 2026.

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