Make password show-and-hide controls clear

What to change

Where accounts are used, ask the supplier to provide a clear way to show or hide a typed password without changing it or accidentally sending the form.

A worked example

Illustrative example

A visitor reveals a password to check one mistyped character, then hides it again. Both actions work without restarting entry or losing the registration details.

Healthcare software workflow connecting task cards, a checklist and a database. — Map the work and the information it depends on.

Healthcare software testing with normal paths and a separate exception route. — Test the exceptions as well as the normal workflow.

Why this matters to your practice

If your site has no account or password journey, this check need not create one. Where accounts already exist, the purpose is to let a visitor check a typing mistake deliberately. Words such as Show password and Hide password are easier to judge than an unexplained symbol. Review the control with a fictional password on a private test screen. Ask whether the change remains clear when the user enlarges the page or operates it without a mouse.

How to check the result

Accept when revealing and hiding are deliberate, reversible actions with clear state, and submission still uses the exact entered value.

A mistake to avoid

A changing eye icon alone does not explain the action to everyone, especially when its visual meaning is unfamiliar.

Turn reading into a next step

Your action checklist

Work through these checks with your team or supplier. Tick the ones you have resolved and leave unknowns open.

Checks to discussEnter a fictional password and activate the visibility control. Check that the entered value stays unchanged, the cursor remains useful and the control explains how to hide it.Use a keyboard to reach and activate the same control. Ask the supplier to demonstrate the label and state announced by a screen reader (software that reads the page aloud).Move between password and confirmation fields if both exist. Confirm each visibility setting affects the intended field and does not unexpectedly submit the registration form.

Your answers and notes

Record what you know, what is still missing and the answer you need from your team or supplier.

What happens next, and who will do it?

Use project decisions only, without personal, patient or confidential details. Entries stay in this page and are not submitted to Kay & Co. Copy or download before leaving; this page does not save your notes.

Related guides

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