You cannot find your existing Facebook password, but you can reset it
Facebook does not show you your password anywhere — not in settings, not in email, not anywhere. This is intentional. If Facebook stored passwords in a way that employees could read them, hackers who broke into Facebook's computers could read them too. Instead, Facebook stores only a locked version of your password that cannot be reversed.
What you can do is reset your password to something new. This works whether you remember your old password or not, and it takes about five minutes. You will need access to the email address or phone number connected to your account.
Key Takeaways
- Facebook cannot show you your password because it does not store passwords in a readable form — you can only reset it to create a new one.
- To reset your password, go to facebook.com, click "Forgotten password?", and enter the email or phone number on your account.
- Facebook will send a reset link to your email or a code to your phone — use whichever method you can access right now.
- If you cannot access the email or phone number on your account, you will need to use Facebook's account recovery process, which takes longer.
- After you reset your password, log out of Facebook on all other devices to make sure no one else is using your account.
Reset your password from the login page
Go to facebook.com. On the login screen, below the password box, click the link that says "Forgotten password?" or "Forgotten account?". Facebook will ask you to enter the email address or phone number connected to your account.
Type in whichever one you have access to right now. If you are not sure which email address you used, try the one you use most often. If that does not work, try others. Facebook will tell you if it does not recognize the address.
Click "Search" or "Next". Facebook will show you options for how to reset your password — usually an email reset or a text message code. Pick whichever one you can access when ready.
Use the email reset link
If you choose email, Facebook will send a message to the address on your account. Open that email and look for a message from Facebook with the subject line "How to reset your Facebook password" or similar. Click the link inside the email.
The link will take you to a page where you can type a new password. Make it something you have not used before and something you do not use on other websites. Type it twice to confirm you spelled it correctly, then click "Continue" or "Reset Password".
Facebook will log you out and ask you to log back in with your new password. Do this right away to make sure the reset worked.
Use the text message code instead
If you choose text message, Facebook will send a code to the phone number on your account. The code is usually six digits. Open the text message and copy the code, then go back to Facebook and paste it into the box that says "Enter code".
Facebook will then let you type a new password on the same page. Type it twice, click "Continue", and log back in with the new password to confirm it worked.
What to do if you cannot access your email or phone
If the email address on your account no longer works, or if you no longer have the phone number, you will need to use Facebook's account recovery tool. Go to facebook.com/login/identify, and Facebook will ask you to enter your email, phone, username, or full name.
Facebook will show you a list of accounts that might be yours. Click the one you want to recover. Facebook will then ask you to prove you own the account — usually by uploading a photo of your ID or by answering security questions you set up before.
This process can take a few days. Facebook will send you instructions by email or text to whatever contact information they can verify. Follow those instructions to regain access to your account and reset your password.
Log out of Facebook everywhere after you reset
After you reset your password and log back in, go to your settings and log out of all other sessions. This makes sure that if someone else was using your account, they cannot use it anymore.
On a computer, click the down arrow in the top right corner of Facebook, then click "Settings & privacy" and then "Settings". On the left side, click "Security and login". Scroll down to "Where you're logged in" and click "Log out all sessions" or review each session and click "Log out" next to any you do not recognize.
On a phone, tap the three lines in the bottom right, scroll down to "Settings & privacy", tap "Settings", tap "Security and login", then tap "Where you're logged in". Tap "Log out all sessions".
Prevent this from happening again
After you have reset your password, add a backup email address and phone number to your account. This way, if you lose access to your main email, you still have another way to reset your password.
Go to Settings, click "Personal information", and look for "Email addresses" and "Mobile phones". Add a second email address and a second phone number if you have them. You can also set up two-factor authentication, which requires a code from your phone every time you log in from a new device — this makes it much harder for someone else to break in even if they know your password.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Facebook tell me what my old password was?
No. Facebook does not store passwords in a way that can be read back out. This protects you — if hackers broke into Facebook's computers, they could not steal your passwords. You can only reset to a new password, not recover the old one.
What if I reset my password but still cannot log in?
Wait a few minutes and try again — sometimes the reset takes a moment to go through. Make sure you are typing the new password correctly, with the right capital letters. If you still cannot log in, use the "Forgotten password?" link again and reset to a different password.
Will resetting my password log me out everywhere?
It will log you out of Facebook on your phone and other devices, but you may stay logged in on the computer where you reset it. After you reset, go to Settings, click "Security and login", and manually log out of any sessions you do not recognize.
Do I need to tell Facebook why I am resetting my password?
No. You can reset your password anytime for any reason — you do not need to explain it to Facebook. Just use the "Forgotten password?" link and follow the steps.
What if someone else is using my account right now?
Reset your password when ready using the steps above, then go to Settings and log out of all other sessions. If you see posts or messages you did not make, report them to Facebook and consider changing the passwords on your email and other accounts too.