How to Find a Lost Password from Ages Ago

You’ve lost a password—an important password. This is an unthinkable, stress-inducing event in this modern digital world. But, it could be worse.

Let me tell you about Stefan Thomas. Stefan Thomas forgot the password to a hard drive that contains 7002 Bitcoins. For the very, very few people who still don’t know about Bitcoin at the time of writing this article, that would be worth $523,477,222.20! Of course, when you read this, it could be a billion or zero, but this article isn’t about the fickle nature of Bitcoin.

Imagine what you could do with that kind of money. Imagine what you would do if you forgot that password! Let’s not get too drastic here, as I’m happy to say that Stefan Thomas has made peace with the fact that he will probably never touch that money. (Huge respect for that self-actualization if you are reading this, Stefan!)

Let's jump in. 

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How to recover passwords

To find long-lost passwords, you need to cast a wide net. That means searching around your home, office, and all devices. We are going to start with the digital search and then follow up with some of the places where you may find an old password in the real world.

Search your web browsers

The first place to look for a lost password is your web browser. The way you find passwords is different for each browser, so we’ll go through them one by one. Also, note that you may have switched which browser you use regularly at one or more points in time, so it may not be in the one you are using to read this.

In addition, you may have reused the password you are looking for (note: don’t reuse passwords), so think about login info for sites you signed up for around the same time as the lost password.

Microsoft Edge (formerly Internet Explorer)

Open up Edge and click the three dots in the top right. Click Settings > Profiles > Passwords. Here you can see your saved passwords.

Firefox

Click the hamburger in the top right, then Settings > Privacy and Security > scroll down to Logins and passwords, and click Saved Logins....

Chrome

Click the three dots in the top right, then Passwords and Autofill > Google Password Manager. You'll see your logins in the Passwords tab under Passwords.

Alternatively, use this link: chrome://password-manager/passwords

Stop your team from saving company passwords in their personal browsers. TeamPassword for Chrome gives your entire organization a shared, secure vault that integrates directly, so you control who has access.

Safari

Open up Safari and click Safari in the top left, then Settings... Select Passwords from the buttons at the top of this window. Enter your device password or use biometric unlock. Click My Passwords to see all of your saved passwords, and click the exclamation next to each one to see it in detail.

Search your email inboxes

Have you ever sent yourself an email with an important password in it (note: don’t ever email yourself passwords)? Can you think of words that might be found in those files? If you sent any of these lost passwords from one account to another, would you know what email account you sent them from? Let’s go through some of these prompts following the search instructions below.

Before you get started digging through your email, please note that many thousands of emails are hacked every year, and your passwords could now be available online in multiple places. Once you find your password be sure to change the information and find a more secure way to store it.

Outlook

Select the search bar, located above the Outlook ribbon. Type a name, subject, or phrase which is included in the email message that you want to find. You can use quotation marks around a phrase to search for words in that exact order.

Gmail

For a simple search, just type the terms in the box at the top of the page. You can also click on the down arrow for advanced search filters. Then, click the search icon.

Yahoo Mail

As with Gmail, you can type basic search terms in the box found at the top of the page. You can also refine your search using the menu in front of the search box.

Whichever email provider you are searching, be sure to vary your search terms. “Credentials,” “login,” and “password” are all possible hits, but so is the name of the organization for which you have lost your password.

If that fails, figure out approximately when you originally would have made the password and try to search by dates. You can also search in your sent email folder, as you may have long deleted the received email, but the sent message might still remain.

The Business Risk: Emailing passwords ("Here's the new login for the server") is one of the most common ways companies suffer data breaches. A single compromised email account can act as a skeleton key to your entire business. A secure, shared vault eliminates this risk completely.

Search through cloud-based services

It is probably repetitive at this point, but it bears repeating, all the same. Storing your passwords in a cloud-based service such as Google Drive or Evernote is not a secure way to manage your passwords. However, if you have done so and then lost your password, follow the steps below to search your services for those lost passwords.

Google Drive

The following instructions are for a desktop computer or an iOS device. You can bypass them on your Android devices and just search using Google Now.

Open Google Drive and log in if you aren’t already. Then, type your search terms. You can then peruse the list of documents found. Google Drive will search document titles, content, and images by default, which could provide too many results. It is best to start with a narrow search and then expand if your search was unsuccessful. To only search titles, add the phrase “title:” to the start of your search query.

Evernote

Open Evernote and sign in. Click the magnifying glass on the left and simply enter the keywords you wish to search.

Search for files on your computer’s hard drive

Some people write important passwords in a Word or Excel file or some other note-taking file. Have you done this at any point? If you can’t remember, try searching your files for your lost passwords.

This can be done on both Windows and Mac.

Searching for files on Windows

Windows search, by default, doesn’t scan all the files on your computer.

Option 1: Adjust indexing options to search for the file extensions you want.

To do so, before typing in your search query in Windows Search, perform the following actions.

1. Search for "Indexing Options." This will open a control panel window. 
2. Select Advanced and then File Types.
3. Select all file extensions you wish to search (.docx, .doc, .xlsx, .xls, etc.). If you don’t see the options, you can add more. Click the radial option “Index Properties and File Contents” as well as “Always Search File Names and Contents” on the “Search” tab.

Option 2: Use a way better file search program (Everything)

Personally, I recommend an application called Everything for windows. It's a filename search engine that works more like Mac's Spotlight. It's really fast, and you can adjust search filters right from the application.

Searching for files on Mac

Mac is a bit simpler. Click on the magnifying glass in the top-right corner of your screen near the date and time or hit cmd+space. Then, type in your search terms and view the results.

Collect passwords from your mobile device

How long have you had a smartphone? For most people, the answer is longer than you have had a password manager like TeamPassword. During those early years of mobile Internet, did you ever store passwords in the note app on your phone (note: don’t store your passwords in a notetaker on your phone)?

If so, you can use spotlight on your iPhone to search through your notes to find any lost passwords stored there.

On Android, check Keep Notes, Samsung Notes, or whatever notetaking app you use on your phone. Also check the app called Files - this brings up your Documents, Downloads, and Safe folder.

Check OS-Level Credential Managers

While web browsers are a common hiding spot for old logins, many users don't realize that their operating systems store passwords independently of their browsers. Checking your system-level vault is a highly effective next step.

Windows Credential Manager

Windows has a built-in tool that stores passwords for networked drives, local applications, and sometimes older web credentials.

1. Click the Start button or press the Windows key.
2. Search for "Credential Manager" and open the control panel app.
3. Browse through both the Web Credentials and Windows Credentials tabs.
4. If you find the account you are looking for, click the downward arrow next to the entry and select Show to reveal the password (you will need to enter your Windows PIN or password).

Apple iCloud Keychain

If you use Apple devices, your passwords are likely synced via iCloud Keychain. Because this system is ecosystem-wide, a password you created months ago on your Mac might be sitting right in your iPhone's settings.

• On Mac: Click the Apple menu in the top left, select System Settings (or System Preferences), and click Passwords. Authenticate with Touch ID or your Mac login, and use the search bar to find the account.
• On iPhone or iPad: Open the Settings app, scroll down, and tap Passwords. Use Face ID or Touch ID to unlock your vault, and use the search bar at the top to find your missing credentials.

Did You Use Single Sign-On (SSO)?

Sometimes a password isn't lost at all—it never actually existed. It's incredibly common to spend hours hunting for a specific website's password, completely forgetting that the account was created using a Single Sign-On (SSO) option.

When you originally signed up, did you click a button that said "Sign in with Google," "Sign in with Apple," or "Log in with Facebook"? If you used one of these shortcuts, you never created a unique password for that specific site. Instead, your login is tied to that primary account.

What to do: Go back to the login page of the service you are trying to access. Look for the third-party login buttons usually located just above or below the standard email and password fields. Try clicking the one you most commonly use. As long as you know the password for that primary account (or are already logged into it on your device), you'll be let right back in.

Search for passwords around your home

Writing passwords down on paper can be as insecure as the location you store the paper. If you keep backup files in sealed envelopes tucked away with your 2009 tax return, there is a good chance that no one will find it.

That being said, if that password holds the key to 7002 Bitcoins, it is probably worth putting it in a bank safety deposit box.

If you work in a shared office, definitely don’t write passwords on a sticky note and put it on your monitor!

But this isn’t a time to judge. You can change your ways after finding your lost password. Here’s a list of places in your home that might be hiding your lost password:

• On or under the desk in your home office
• In your home vault or security box
• In a filing cabinet
• Your kitchen junk drawer
• That pile of mail that really should be put in the recycling bin
• Old notepads or diaries
• Old calendars
• Wireless routers (sometimes default WiFi passwords are on the back)
• Your wallet

When all else fails, take a deep breath and accept it is gone. If you find your password in the future, great! For now—for your sanity—just let it go. If Stefan Thomas can be zen about losing a password and over 300 million dollars along with it, you can create a new email account—and your boss can forgive you for a lost password.

How Businesses Move from Password Recovery to Password Management

Losing a password is frustrating, but with a password manager like TeamPassword, it doesn’t have to happen again. You only need to remember one secure, memorable master passphrase. Thanks to zero-knowledge encryption, your data stays completely private, and the password manager safely handles the rest.

By shifting to TeamPassword, you reduce the risk of forgetting credentials and create a safer, more streamlined online experience for your whole organization:

• Secure Storage & Generation: Lock credentials behind AES 256-bit encryption and automatically generate strong, unique passwords so you never have to reuse them.
• Integrated TOTP Authenticator: Easily access accounts protected by 2FA with codes generated directly inside TeamPassword.
• Safe Sharing & Access Control: Securely onboard employees and share access without ever sending a password over email or Slack. Maintain audit trails and revoke access in a single click when an employee leaves.
• Access Anywhere: Keep your team moving with secure access across phones, tablets, and computers.

Stop wasting billable hours on password hunts and reset requests. Secure your team's credentials, manage access in one central place, and prevent password emergencies before they stop your business.

Start a 14-day free trial of TeamPassword for your business today.