Plugin profile · observed daily since 02 Aug 2026
Better Passwords
Active installs200+ rounded
Current authorbettersecurity
Owner changesNone while we have been watching
Last release2 years ago 28 Sep 2024
Support— no recent threads
Releases on record9
Rating5.0 /5 · 3
Added to directory08 Feb 2019
Requires WP4.0
Requires PHP7.0
Version lag0.5 behind
Tested up toWP 6.6.11 WordPress is now on 7.1
PluginsPedia reports published data and observable changes. It does not rate plugin quality or safety, infer intent, or make recommendations. These are observations rather than a verdict. How this works
Ownership
Held by bettersecurity throughout, with no change of ownership observed since daily tracking began on 02 Aug 2026.
Full observed history, including every field transition
Committing accounts
Read from the plugin’s public release log, so these predate this registry. A committing account is not an owner. Thirty accounts commit to WooCommerce and it has never changed hands.
| Account | Releases | First | Last |
|---|---|---|---|
| bettersecurity | 6 | 08 Feb 2019 | 10 Nov 2020 |
| riklewis | 3 | 11 Mar 2019 | 16 May 2019 |
This registry did not observe a transfer; it read these names off a public log. Whether that reflects a change of ownership is not something the directory publishes.
Adoption
How widely the plugin is installed, and what the people running it think of it. WordPress.org rounds install figures to one significant digit, so they describe an order of magnitude rather than a headcount.
Small but established: 200+ active installs. Enough sites to show it works in the wild, too few for adoption to say much on its own.
122 downloads a day over the last 7 days, rising 26% against the 7 days before. Downloads are counted exactly and without a ceiling, so they show movement the rounded install figure cannot.
11 Sep 2026peak 733/day31 Oct 2026
Daily record
Every field we record, one column per observation. Fields that never moved are named once rather than repeated across every column. A row of identical numbers would be padding.
| Field | 18 Oct | 19 Oct | 20 Oct | 21 Oct | 22 Oct | 23 Oct | 24 Oct | 25 Oct | 26 Oct | 27 Oct | 28 Oct | 29 Oct | 30 Oct | 31 Oct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downloads that day | — | 0 | 207 | 230 | 160 | 57 | 24 | 11 | 43 | 0 | 234 | 203 | 212 | 153 |
Unchanged throughout: ratings total (3) · active installs (200+) · version (1.8) · support threads (0) · threads resolved (0)
91 days of observation, most recent 14 shown.
Maintenance
When it was last released, and how far its declared compatibility has drifted from current WordPress.
Added to directory7.5 years ago 08 Feb 2019
Requires WP4.0
Requires PHP7.0
Version lag0.5 behind
Is anyone still maintaining this?
- No release in 771 days (2.1 years). The last was 28 Sep 2024.
- Declares compatibility only up to WordPress 6.6.11, while 7.1 is current. The author has not confirmed it runs on the last 5 releases.
- The same account maintains 4 other plugins, and none has been updated in over a year, the most recent on 28 Sep 2024.
A plugin that does one thing correctly may need no changes for years; a long gap is not, by itself, evidence of neglect.
History
Everything dated that this registry holds about the plugin, most recent first. Releases carry the author’s own release date; everything else is dated to when it was observed.
Entries marked from the release log predate this registry, and daily observation began 02 Aug 2026. They were read from the plugin’s public SVN history after the fact, not watched as they happened. Everything else was observed directly.
- 02 Aug 20263 months agoFirst observed by PluginsPediaDaily snapshots of this plugin’s directory record begin here. Everything above this line is observed; anything before it comes from fields the API itself reports.
- 22 Mar 20268 months agoDormancy threshold crossed540 days since the last release (2024-09-28). Dormancy is a maintenance observation, not a judgement about the owner.
- 28 Sep 20242 years agoVersion 1.8 released
- 17 Apr 20206.5 years agoVersion 1.6 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by bettersecurity.
- 17 Apr 20206.5 years agoVersion 1.7 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by bettersecurity.
- 09 Dec 20196.5 years agoVersion 1.5 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by bettersecurity.
- 04 Jul 20197 years agoVersion 1.4 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by bettersecurity.
- 16 May 20197.5 years agoVersion 1.3 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by riklewis.
- 14 May 20197.5 years agoVersion 1.2 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by riklewis.
- 11 Mar 20197.5 years agoVersion 1.1 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by riklewis.
- 08 Feb 20197.5 years agoVersion 1.0 releasedfrom the release logCommitted by bettersecurity.
- 08 Feb 20197.5 years agoAdded to the WordPress.org directoryReported by the plugin API as the date this plugin was added.
What we know, and what we don’t
Everything on this page in one place, including the gaps, so that nothing here is mistaken for a clean bill of health.
What we know
- It has been held by bettersecurity for all 91 days we have observed it.
- It was last released 2 years ago (28 Sep 2024).
- Its author declares it tested up to WordPress 6.6.11; WordPress is now on 7.1.
- WordPress.org reports 200+ active installs.
- It carries 3 ratings, averaging 5.0 out of 5.
What we don’t know yet
- No forum threads were open in the two months we measure, so how responsive its support is cannot be said. One new thread starts answering that.
- No release in the 91 days we have been watching, so how often it ships cannot be said. Every further day of silence tells you more.
What can’t be known
- Whether the quiet is neglect or a finished plugin. That is the author’s intent, which no dataset records, and a stable plugin can need no changes for years.
Every record on this site, this one included, works under the same limits. We read what WordPress.org publishes about a plugin, never the plugin’s own code, so nothing here says whether a plugin is well built or safe. Install counts reach us already rounded; a change smaller than a band step doesn’t show. We don’t track security advisories yet. For anything older than our first observation we rely on the plugin’s public release log, where one exists. What this registry can and cannot see
Similar plugins
This plugin has not been updated in a long time. These carry the same tags and describe themselves in the same terms, so they are a starting point for a replacement, not a recommendation. Check them yourself.
Teydea Login Security – Password Policy, Complexity Rules & Expiration
Define and enforce password policies for your WordPress site with length, complexity, and expiration rules.
400+ installs5.0★ (1)updated 30 Oct 2026
Password Strength Settings for WooCommerce
Help secure your WooCommerce site by enforcing stronger passwords and taking additional control of your strength requirements.
10,000+ installs4.5★ (24)updated 11 Oct 2023
50× the installs · no release in over 18 months
Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection
Harden your site security with Login Security, Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), Vulnerability Scanner, Firewall, and more. Formerly iThemes Security.
700,000+ installs4.6★ (3,992)updated 14 Oct 2026
3,500× the installs
Login Security Solution
Security against brute force attacks by tracking IP, name, password; requiring very strong passwords. Idle timeout. Maintenance mode lockdown.
4,000+ installs4.4★ (54)updated 28 Nov 2017
20× the installs · no release in over 18 months
Better Headers
Improve the security of your website by easily setting HTTP response headers to enable browser protection
80+ installs5.0★ (1)updated 28 Sep 2024
no release in over 18 months
Better Detection
Improve the security of your website by detecting unexpected changes to content
10+ installs5.0★ (1)updated 28 Sep 2024
far fewer installs · no release in over 18 months
Grouped from the tags each author chose for their own plugin, so the grouping is only as good as those tags.
Reach out about this record
Corrections, missing context, or anything else about Better Passwords: a person reads every submission, and corrections get a reply within 5 business days.