4 digit PIN risk map

Check a 4 digit PIN from 0000 to 9999. Colours reflect risk from frequency and pattern checks.

Privacy: this tool runs in your browser. We do not send or store the PIN you type.

Back to generator PIN security guide Check password strength Security resources Privacy

In memory of Nick Berry (Data Dude). This tool is inspired by publicly discussed PIN risk patterns and frequency insights.

Read the Guardian feature
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Risk

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Enter a PIN to see risk.

    Safety score (out of 100)

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    About the data, limitations, and privacy

    Privacy. We do not store, log, or transmit entered PINs. Analytics must never include the PIN value, only aggregate events.

    1234 accounts for 10.7% of all pins… The Guardian (2012)
    No dataset of real banking PINs has ever been made public. Bonneau et al. (2012)
    If you think someone knows your PIN, or saw you type it in, change it right away. Lloyds (card safety)

    Limitations. The full per-PIN frequency distribution from Nick Berry’s 3.4m analysis is not published publicly. This visual uses: (a) the published Top 20 PINs and their frequencies, plus (b) pattern-based checks (dates, years, sequences, keypad patterns) for the rest. Categories are for guidance only.

    My interpretation of the numbers from Dr Alex J Martin-Smith

    We assign each PIN to Avoid (Top 20 or severe patterns), Weak (date-like, year-like, or other patterns), or OK. The heat colour reflects a risk score. You should choose a PIN that is not in the Top 20 and avoids obvious patterns; if you think someone has seen your PIN, change it straight away.

    1. Berry, N. (2012, September 28). The most common pin numbers: Is your bank account vulnerable? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/money/blog/2012/sep/28/debit-cards-currentaccounts
    2. Berry, N. (2012, September 3). PIN number analysis. DataGenetics. https://www.datagenetics.com/blog/september32012/
    3. Bonneau, J., Preibusch, S., & Anderson, R. (2012). A birthday present every eleven wallets? The security of customer-chosen banking PINs. University of Cambridge. https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/archive/rja14/Papers/BPA12-FC-banking_pin_security.pdf
    4. Lloyds Bank. (n.d.). Card safety. https://www.lloydsbank.com/help-guidance/protecting-yourself-from-fraud/card-safety.html
    5. Ministry of Justice. (n.d.). Passwords – Security Guidance. https://security-guidance.service.justice.gov.uk/passwords/
    6. Police.uk. (n.d.). Protect your phone. https://www.police.uk/cp/crime-prevention/personal-safety-how-to-stay-safe/mobile-phone-advice/
    7. Information is Beautiful. (2024). Most Common PIN numbers. https://informationisbeautiful.net/2024/most-common-pin-numbers/
    8. MoneySavingExpert. (n.d.). Steps to take before your phone is stolen. https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mobiles/steps-to-take-before-your-phone-is-stolen/

    Last updated: 15 February 2026.

    Avoid Weak OK Unknown
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