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How logging in with an email code works, and how to add a password if you want one.
Creating an account and logging in both work the same way: you give us your email address, and we send a short code to type in. No password to invent or remember.
A password is optional — see Adding a password below.
The Create account form asks for your name and your email. One checkbox confirms you're old enough to hold an account and that you agree to the Terms. See Who owns what you add for what that covers. Submitting sends a 6-digit code to that address.
Enter the code and your account is created and confirmed in one step — we pick a starting username from your name automatically, so there's nothing to type there. Right after, you'll answer one more question (whether you're posting as yourself or on behalf of an organization) and you can change that starting username if you'd rather pick your own — see Choosing a username for what that involves.
The code expires after a few minutes and only works once. If it doesn't arrive, "Resend code" sends a fresh one — if you've asked for several in quick succession, wait a minute or two before the next try.
If you try to create an account with an email address that already has an account, you'll see the same "check your email" screen either way. Nothing is created or changed, and whoever owns that address gets a notice letting them know someone tried, with a reminder to log in instead.
When you create an account, the code-entry page has a "remember me" checkbox — leave it unchecked and you'll need a fresh code the next time you visit; check it and this device stays logged in for a while. It's unchecked by default.
Same idea, but the checkbox lives one step earlier: enter your email on the login page, and "remember me" is right there before you even request a code. It's checked by default, so this device stays logged in unless you uncheck it — on a shared device, uncheck it so the next person to sit down isn't logged in as you. Each code is single-use, so a new login always means a new one.
A few wrong guesses in a row pause verification for a few minutes for whoever just tried them, not for anyone else trying the same address, and while that pause lasts even a correct code won't go through — "Resend code" and try again once that's passed. If you don't recognize an email address, we send at most one notice a day telling whoever's there that they don't have an account.
Change it from your account settings. We first send a code to your current address to confirm it's really you, then a second code to the new address to confirm you can receive mail there — your email only actually changes once that second code is entered. Your old address gets a notice as soon as the change starts, and another once it goes through, in case either one wasn't you.
If you've lost access to your current address, there's no self-service way around that — contact us instead.
You can set a password from your account settings if you'd rather type a password than wait for an email sometimes. Setting the first one asks you to confirm a fresh code to your email first, the same quick check as changing your email or deleting your account — after that, the login page's "Use a password instead" link logs you in that way too, and the code still works whenever you want it.
A password needs to be at least 15 characters. It also can't be one that's shown up in a known data breach — if you get that message, pick a different one.
There's no separate reset link to lose track of. Log in with an email code instead — it proves the account is yours the same way a reset link would — and set a new password from settings once you're in.
Security settings has a Log out everywhere button. It logs you out on every other device, including any that were set to remember you. The device you use it on stays logged in. It asks for a code sent to your email first.