Could a simple comma in your password confuse hackers trying to organise stolen login details? An unusual suggestion making this claim has gained millions of views on X, with users debating whether adding a punctuation mark could disrupt files containing leaked information. But is there any truth to the idea, and can a comma really make passwords safer?
How a comma in passwords became a viral topic
The discussion began after X user William Alves shared a post in Portuguese. He wrote, "Always put a comma (,) in your passwords. If they ever end up in a data leak, it'll break the CSV." He also tagged Grok, X's artificial intelligence chatbot, and asked it to confirm the claim.
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Grok said the suggestion could work if a CSV file was not formatted correctly. In such cases, a comma within a password could be mistaken for a separator, causing the information to shift into the wrong columns.
{{/usCountry}}Grok said the suggestion could work if a CSV file was not formatted correctly. In such cases, a comma within a password could be mistaken for a separator, causing the information to shift into the wrong columns.
{{/usCountry}}The post quickly gained attention, with around 5.7 million views, 19,000 likes, 8,500 quote posts and 1,900 reposts, according to figures shared by AGTP Insights.
What is the viral comma password claim?
AGTP Insights, an account on X that shares technology and cybersecurity-related explanations, also broke down the claim. It explained that CSV files use commas to separate information. If such a file is not formatted correctly, a comma in a password could split the entry into additional columns.
CSV stands for comma-separated values. It is a file format used to organise information into rows and columns. However, commas can also appear within individual fields if those entries are enclosed in double quotation marks.
RFC 4180, a technical document published by the Internet Engineering Task Force, explains this formatting rule. For example, a password such as "pass,word" can remain within a single field when the CSV is correctly formatted. Many programming languages also have built-in tools to read these files without confusing commas within fields for separators.
AGTP Insights also noted that the post had inspired similar suggestions, with users sharing examples such as "pass,word" and "1,2345". Some even suggested using a semicolon instead. Similar posts appeared in Spanish, Japanese, Korean and Chinese.
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Does adding a comma actually protect passwords?
There is another reason why the trick may not work as users expect. The Open Worldwide Application Security Project (OWASP) recommends that websites store passwords using secure hashing methods rather than keeping them in plain text. This means a leaked database may contain password hashes instead of readable passwords.
While a comma could cause problems in an incorrectly formatted CSV file, it is not a reliable way to protect an account or disrupt stolen data. Using long, unique passwords, a trusted password manager and multi-factor authentication remain more effective ways to secure online accounts.