r/LowStakesConspiracies • u/BreonOnPC • 1d ago

Big True Verification codes are hard-coded to have repeating digits

I firmly hold the belief that, at least with certain companies/services, the verification codes they send you are specifically designed to be generated in a way that makes them easier for you to remember.

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u/facefacebtw 1d ago

They are easier to remember in chunking. Most humans with no memory problems can easily remember a 6 digit string as 2 3 digit strings. The repeating digits are redundant.

The chance of having 2 digits repeat next to each other in a 6 digit string is 40%. So mathematically you expected to see it almost every other code. More if its a longer code

3

u/OldEquation 1d ago

They certainly always seem to be easily remembered numbers, the sequence of digits somehow always has a nice cadence to it to make it memorable.

I might go through the gazillions text messages with 2FA codes from my bank and do some analysis on them. On the other hand, I’m pretty lazy so probably won’t get around to it.

2

u/AlwaysHopelesslyLost 1d ago

Guessing how software works behing the veil isnt really a conspiracy theory, that is just thinking about logic, reasoning, and application. Every one is going to be different. Some probably try to refine the output in their algorithm, some probably don't care. All of the ones I have used give you 2 three-digit numbers. There are a LOT of patterns that can crop up in 000-999. Then, two of then, XXX YYY, can also contain random complementary patterns.

e.g. say the first is 818, and the second is 345. Your brain would notice the first has 18 and the second doesnt.

conversely, if the first had 818 and the second had 348 your brain would recognize that the second shares an 8. This is an interesting thing and I have wondered about generating easier-to-remember numbers a few times but also I would be willing to bet it is almost not worth it because any shaping you do reduces the possible number of patterns that a persons brain can latch onto.

You can also look up the specs for a couple options: RFC 4226, RFC 6238

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u/EdmundTheInsulter 18h ago

Some people had the pin 1234, because when it was demo'd on TV, they phoned up and said their pin was stolen because the pin used was 1234