Signing in without a password, or resetting it
Forgot your password? You can reset it, or skip passwords entirely and sign in with an emailed link. Both start from the sign-in page.
Resetting your password
- On the sign-in page, choose Forgot password?.
- Type your email address and submit.
- Open the email I send, tap the link, and choose a new password.
- Sign in with your new password.
I send the same confirmation whether or not the address has an account, so the form never reveals who has one. The link lands within a minute or two.
Unlike a sign-in link, a reset link never asks you to re-confirm your address, even on another device — the link itself is all I need.
Signing in with an emailed link
Prefer to skip passwords entirely?
- Type your email address on the sign-in page.
- Choose Email me a sign-in link.
- Open the email I send and tap the link.
That's it — no password to invent, and none to forget. Prefer a password? The box is on the same page.
If you never set one
When you set up your account you could choose a password or pick Continue without a password. If you picked the second, nothing is missing — the sign-in link above is your way in, and it's the same one everybody else uses.
If a password you're sure of isn't accepted, you probably never set one — ask for a link instead.
Prefer to have one after all? Forgot password? works even if you never set a password — it lets you choose your first.
You can also do it from inside your account, without signing out: go to User Settings in the account menu, choose Change password, type anything in the current box and six or more characters in the new one, then Update password. There's no current password to match, so instead of an error I'll tell you the account has no password yet and offer Email me a link to pick one.
Every link works once
Every link I send — to sign in, to reset your password, or to confirm an email address — is good for one use and then expires. Ask for another and the newest one is the one that works; older ones stop working, which is what keeps an old email in your inbox from being a way in for anyone else.
So if a link doesn't work, it's been used or it has expired — or, for a sign-in link, the address you entered doesn't match the one it was sent to. Either way, ask for a fresh one: opening a used sign-in link leaves you on the sign-in page, ready to do exactly that.
Whichever link it is, it opens on our own site. Got one you didn't ask for? Ignore it — nothing happens unless it's opened.
Why a sign-in link sometimes asks for your email again
Open the link on the same device you asked from and you're signed in with nothing more to do.
Ask on your laptop and open the link on your phone, and the phone asks you to confirm your address once before it finishes. That's protecting you: a link alone isn't enough to sign anyone in — it only works with the address it was sent to. If somebody forwarded you a sign-in link of their own, typing your own address is what stops you landing in their account.
If the email doesn't arrive
- Check your spam or junk folder — it's the usual culprit.
- Check the address for a typo. I'll tell you right away if it isn't a real address, so look for a typo that still forms a valid one — the link went there instead.
- Wait a minute before asking again. I limit how often a link goes to one address, so rapid repeats are turned down for a short while — that's what stops anyone flooding an inbox.
If it still hasn't arrived after a few minutes, ask me in chat and I'll put you in touch with a real person — see "Talking to a real person".
Confirming your email address
Three things confirm your address on their own: opening the Get Started link we email when your application is approved, signing in with an emailed link, and resetting your password. If none of those applies, ask for a confirmation email in User Settings in the account menu. See "Managing your account".
How long you stay signed in
Once you're in, you stay in for about a week before you're asked to sign in again — passwordless doesn't mean a link every day. Closing the tab or restarting doesn't sign you out; signing out does, a week going by does, changing or resetting your password signs out your other devices, and we can end your sessions for security — you'd just sign in again.
Signing out
Signing out works the same as always, from User Settings in the account menu. See "Managing your account".