Why: it's a holdover from past beliefs. Twenty, thirty, forty years ago, people thought shoulder surfing was a major way passwords got stolen. By the time behavioral researchers showed that a much bigger problem was the use of very simple passwords due to the difficulty of typing complex passwords, the idea that passwords MUST be hidden was ingrained throughout the industry, and mostly untouchable.

My usual solution: store the password somewhere else, copy and paste when I need it.


Edward