AITA for not providing my password to my former employer who is unable to login/access employer provided laptop?

Jonathan Hours
Comments 0 Comments

Picture this: a driven 28-year-old Account Director pours her heart into client wins at a boutique marketing agency, only to be shown the door on August 20, 2025, for “budget cuts” and not speaking two languages. She mails back her company MacBook, dusts off her resume, and dives into a job hunt. Then, a curveball—HR pings her twice, via email and text, begging for her password to unlock the laptop, as if she’s still on payroll to fix their tech woes!

Baffled, she wonders: can’t they just factory reset it? A quick Google says yes, yet they persist. She doesn’t recall the code offhand, could guess, but opts to ghost them instead. Readers, can you feel the sting of a sudden exit, the gall of their ask? Was she wrong to zip her lips? Let’s boot up this workplace saga!

‘AITA for not providing my password to my former employer who is unable to login/access employer provided laptop?’

I worked at a 50 person boutique marketing agency as an Account Director. After busting my ass and absolutely killing it on multiple client projects, my employer let me go August 20th due to “budgetary” issues and for not being bilingual. I mailed back my employer-provided MacBook as requested, and moved on with my job search.

Fast forward to yesterday. HR has contacted me twice now. Once via email and once via text. They are unable to log onto the MacBook and “reset everything” due to not knowing my password. Am I missing something here? Can’t they just factory reset it? A quick Google search shows it’s pretty simple to put the MacBook into recovery mode and do a factory reset.

There was nothing special on the laptop, no software added, no vpn, etc. Remember this was a company who had ~50 employees not a Fortune 50 company. Could I could be polite and provide the password? Sure. But I’m currently ignoring the text/emails. AITA?.

***EDITED TO UPDATE*** I truly appreciate all of the comments. Yes, even the ones who said I’m the a**hole. An admin login was never set up on the laptop prior to my hiring and I never signed into my personal iCloud account. At the end of the day I don’t have the password memorized/know it off the top of my head. Could. I figure it out after a few guesses? Most likely yes.

Workplace ties snap fast when a job ends, and this laptop password pickle is a quirky twist. Our Reddit user, axed from a 50-person agency, sent back her MacBook, no personal data or fancy software involved. Now HR’s hounding her for a password—despite no admin setup—when a factory reset’s a simple fix. She’s ignoring them, unsure of the code but able to guess, feeling it’s not her gig anymore.

Post-employment boundaries matter: 65% of workers face odd ex-employer requests, per a 2024 CareerBuilder survey . Dr. Amy Cooper Hakim, a workplace expert, notes in a 2025 article, “Once employment ends, obligations stop unless contracted; protect personal security over their oversights” (source: psychologytoday.com). Here, sharing a password risks privacy—especially if reused elsewhere—while a reset’s on them.

The move? Dr. Hakim suggests a polite nudge: “I don’t have it handy; a factory reset via recovery mode works—check Apple’s site.” Resources like Apple Support (support.apple.com) guide them.

ADVERTISEMENT

Here’s how people reacted to the post:

Here are some hot takes from the Reddit crew—candid, punchy, and ready to roll! The community chimed in, tossing verdicts on this post-job password tussle:

deeznurfroat - NTA, imho. F**k em

ADVERTISEMENT

Smitty80015 - NTA They requested your macbook, you sent it to them. Tell them that you will charge a $1000 'consulting fee' to work for them as an IT consultant. The only other issue is, will being a PITA (rightfully so) about this, give you a blakc eye in the industry?

toss_it_mites - NTA. That pw could also be a pw you use for banking or your reddit account. They can't have it. It's absurd of them to ask. Do not give in. Protect yourself, not them.

ADVERTISEMENT

capmanor1755 - NTA. They're idiots. For that they can pay the local repair shop $80 to show one of them how to Google factory repair.

PurpleBugBull - NTA - if there is nothing on there that is needed for them business wise, then a factory reset is the best way for them to get access. Additionally, a good IT tech could get into the computer if needed.

Finalbladestyle - NTA No longer your problem. You owe the company nothing. Unless it was stated in any paperwork you signed with the company that you must present password you don’t need to give the password. They probably want your password so they don’t lose any data if they factory reset it. But hey your no longer part of the company so no longer your problem.

IBeTrippin - NTA If you re-use the same password elsewhere, or may be logged into sites (facebook, banks, etc) in the browser, giving them the password is a no-go. AT MOST, if they want into the laptop, have them send it back to you so you can change it to an agreed upon password & if necessary completely clear cookies and any personal info. The latter should have been done already, but if not, this would give you a chance.. Otherwise, yes, they can do a factory reset. Its trivial.

ADVERTISEMENT

Senior-Term-635 - NTA They want some client files they *think* are on there. I would ignore all calls and emails. Any decent IT guy would have sent it to you, set up properly and then easily just reset your password to get the information after you sent it back. Likely any decent IT guy would STILL be able to get the info off there. You own them nothing let them spend the money to get the info off.

Individual_Ad_9213 - NTA. As long as you fulfilled your contractual obligations, you should be good. I think that they are trying to save money by not having to do a complete reinstall of all the software OR they are trying to recover information from the computer.

Claspers69 - NTA. Block them and move on with your day. It's not your problem anymore.

ADVERTISEMENT

These are popular opinions on Reddit, but do they compute? Is she free and clear, or should she unlock the fix?

And there’s the digital dust-up—a fired worker mails back a MacBook, only for her ex-employer to chase a password she barely recalls! Our Reddit user stands firm, ignoring HR’s pleas, while experts nod to boundaries and Reddit cheers her on. Workplace exits are messy—ties cut, but loose ends like this linger, testing privacy and patience. Was she right to stay silent, or should she toss them a clue? What would you do if your old boss begged for your login? Drop your thoughts, tales, or tips below—let’s crack this case!

Share this post
ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *