Ranking the Myers-Briggs Types from Best to Worst at Keeping Secrets

Think about the last secret someone told you. Is it still locked away in your mental vault or did it maybe slip out at brunch last weekend? 

Be honest. Did you even make it a full 24 hours? 

Personality type plays a key role in how well your bestie keeps a secret. Some will take your secrets to their grave. Others, well, let’s just say they’re like a screen door on a submarine, there’s no controlling what’s going to leak out. 

Category 1: Locked Down Tight

1. The Immovable Boulder, ISTJ

You can hand your deepest secret to an ISTJ and sleep soundly at night. Their strong sense of duty means that if entrusted with secret information, they view it as a sacred commitment to uphold. You can bribe, manipulate, poke, prod—any number of secret-breaking persuasions—and get absolutely nowhere. Your secret dies with them (whether they like you or not). 

Your boss could corner them at happy hour fishing for information about your job search. The ISTJ will look them dead in the eye and say, “I wouldn’t know,” while internally cataloging this as yet another reason they hate office politics. 

Their secret struggle: No ISTJ signed up to be a confessional for their coworkers and acquaintances, yet that’s often what they end up becoming due to their quiet, ever-reliable nature. 

2. The Unbothered Keeper, ISTP

An ISTP is naturally private and practical. They simply don’t see the point in sharing information that isn’t theirs to share. They don’t “do drama,” nor do they feel compelled to fill silence with chatter. The only reason they’re second on the list is because they may, under extreme measures and pushed hard enough, crack just a little. (Don’t worry, you have to work pretty hard to get there.) 

An ISTP assigned with “spilling the tea” at the next game night will internally roll their eyes, shrug, and go back to knitting. In their eyes, it makes no sense that keeping a secret is some highly praised virtue. It’s just logical, right? 

Their secret struggle: An ISTP would rather work on their motorcycle than deal in secrets and they may stop listening halfway through. (But that’s exactly what makes them great!) 

3. The Preoccupied Analyst, INTP

Not to be rude, but an INTP is genuinely more interested in their own intellectual pursuits than gossiping about your personal life. They are excellent secret keepers because any new piece of information is logged away in their neatly organized mental database and only accessed if it’s relevant to their own internal processes. 

If you tell an INTP you’re thinking about faking your own death and moving to Belize, they’d probably nod and say, “Interesting. Have you considered the tax implications?” Their reaction to your secret is less about you and more about whether or not they agree with whatever situation you’ve found yourself in. 

Their secret struggle: Someone told them a secret three months ago and they honestly can’t remember anything about it. Was that supposed to be important? 

4. The Compassionate Confidant, ISFJ

An ISFJ will protect your secret as a means of protecting you. Privacy is highly valued to the ISFJ, and that extends to their associations. The weight of a secret is not lost on them, and you’ll find your ISFJ friends and companions warmer confidants than the first three personality types on this list. 

If you confide that you’re struggling financially while everyone else is discussing an expensive group vacation, they will quietly advocate for your position without ever showing their hand. It would take a great deal for an ISFJ to reveal a secret, only if it seems to serve your aims, and even then it’s likely not the entire kit-and-caboodle.

Their secret struggle: They’re carrying 47 other people’s secrets and are utterly exhausted from being everyone’s emotional support human. Check on your ISFJ friends. They need a hug. 

5. The Principled Secret-Keeper, INFJ

The INFJ in your life values trust and authenticity and, as they are naturally private people, they tend to afford others that same courtesy. A secret will cause some anxiety if keeping it conflicts with a higher moral principle they hold, but in most cases, they’ll honor your confidence without hesitation. 

While they will gladly keep your secret debt under wraps, they will lose sleep over it. They can see exactly how the situation will implode (often with great accuracy) and wonder if they should say something. Spoiler alert: they won’t, but they will gently and persistently encourage you to come clean and handle the situation in a healthy way. 

Their secret struggle: They love to be the confidant and are thrilled to be trusted with a secret! And they will pay for it with worry. INFJs really can’t have one without the other.  

Category 2: Will Keep a Secret In the Right Context

6. The Strategic Confidant, INTJ

Will an INTJ keep your secret? Absolutely—but it may come at a price. The strategic thinking that guides an INTJ understands the value of information and the importance of trust. However, they operate within their own framework of logic and integrity. They will be loyal to principles first, people second. INTJs often have their own master plan in the works and if your secret comes in handy, one way or another, they may sacrifice it for the greater good. 

If you tell your INTJ coworker that you skipped some closing duties because you were tired and stressed from a long day of particularly angry customers, they may determine that the greater good demands disclosure. Plus, it helps them on their journey to the top so they can effect greater change, for everyone’s good. They thank you for your sacrifice. 

Their secret struggle: An INTJ has bigger fish to fry and can sometimes be dismissive of confidences. They’d rather you take care of your own thing because they’re in the middle of something important. 

7. The Emotional Guardian, ISFP

An ISFP can technically keep a secret, until it becomes too emotionally complicated for them. They are private people who respect privacy, but are also deeply connected to (and driven by) their own feelings. They won’t announce a secret out loud at a party, but they may break confidence in a one-on-one conversation if it feels too heavy. 

If you tell an ISFP that you’re going to break up with their best friend, that secret will sit on their chest like a weighted blanket of guilt. There’s a decent chance they’ll crack if the secret causes them emotional turmoil. But tell an ISFP that you secretly applied to art school and you don’t want others to know in fear of disapproval? They’ve got your back. 

Their secret struggle: They are capable of keeping a poker face, but are dying on the inside. They need authenticity and being dishonest by omission makes them feel icky.

8. The Well-Meaning Idealist, INFP

An INFP will certainly try their hardest to keep a secret and would never intentionally hurt someone they care about. However, given their dreamy and somewhat scattered personality, they may let something slip without realizing it. Their habit of talking out loud to process information can lead to some dangerous territory as a secret keeper. 

Picture an INFP having a hypothetical, philosophical discussion with another friend on the merits of jumpsuits and rompers. Your INFP may have changed the names of people involved, but they are three sentences in before realizing they just told your embarrassing wardrobe malfunction in full. Oops. 

Their secret struggle: They realize—three days later, in the shower—that they definitely told your secret. They’re now spiraling about what kind of person that makes them and are currently composing a 2,000 word apology text. 

9. The Goal-Oriented Leader, ENTJ

An ENTJ is generally capable of keeping a secret, especially if they understand the logic behind it. But their inclination to be direct and honest can sometimes work against them in personal situations. They won’t spread gossip for entertainment, but they will speak up to solve a problem if it serves a greater purpose. They’ll tell you their plan to share it, at least. That’s got to count for something.  

If you confide a business merger to your ENTJ employee, they’re going to keep their mouth shut. But if you tell your ENTJ friend about a brief affair at the beginning of your marriage? Their response is likely along the lines of, “Well don’t expect me to keep that a secret. You tell her, or I will.” 

Their secret struggle: The inefficiency of keeping this secret is pretty annoying. If they could just talk to the relevant parties involved, this would be resolved by Tuesday. 

10. The Social Caretaker, ESFJ

An ESFJ wants to be trustworthy, and will certainly try. They value harmony, but are also deeply community-oriented, which means information has a way of getting around. Your secret may pop out if they’re processing their own feelings, it comes up naturally in conversation, or they genuinely believe it’s going to help someone. 

Your ESFJ friend who knows you’re looking for a new place to live might accidentally mention it while commiserating with another friend about roommate struggles. Not maliciously, of course. Just as a means of connection. In their mind, it helps both of you network to new opportunities. (See? It was actually thoughtful!) 

Their secret struggle: They just realized they let your secret slip and are already planning on how to make it up to you. They’re also absolutely sure they’re a terrible person, which they are definitely not. They just care too much about everyone all at once. 

11. The Hypothetical Speaker, ENTP

Your ENTP friend is perfectly capable of keeping a secret when they choose to (“when they choose” being the operative part of that sentence). They know when silence serves them better than speech. But they love a good story and witty banter, so they may try to anonymously use your secret situation as fuel for their cleverness. Your secret is safe, within reason and depending on the context your ENTP finds themselves in. 

You eloped. Congratulations. You tell your ENTP friend and they are ecstatic for you! But at the next party, they respond to claims of being impulsive with a “well, it’s not like I ran off and eloped or anything…” Well, no one else in your group is engaged, so everyone knows it's you, don’t they? 

Their secret struggle: They don’t understand why you’re upset, I mean they didn’t directly use your name or anything. That technically counts as keeping your secret, right? 

Category 3: Your Secret Is Already Out There

12. The Charismatic Connecter, ENFJ

The ENFJ is a warm, caring and genuinely invested friend. Like the ESFJ before them, they are highly sociable and community-oriented, so secrets have a way of being told when they believe it’s facilitating a positive outcome. They feel like they’re building a support network, or a helpful safety net. But to you, it looks an awful lot like they just told your business to a complete stranger. 

If you’ve shared your struggle with anxiety to your ENFJ friend, they won’t maliciously spread it around. But they will probably connect you to one of their other friends who has been to therapy for anxiety. It sounds helpful, truly. But they shared your personal business without asking first, and likely won’t lose any sleep over it. 

Their secret struggle: They don’t understand why you’re upset. They brought people together! They helped heal everyone involved! Why aren’t you thanking them? 

13. The Enthusiastic Storyteller, ENFP

An ENFP will never plan to share your secret. In fact, they’re probably a little offended that they’re this far down on the list. Of course they’re capable of keeping a secret, they’d say…until they remember watching themselves spill one mid-sentence. They don’t mean to—and they certainly don’t want to—but they generally do anyway. 

Your ENFP friend is listening to someone else tell a story about a failed career path. They’ll start with, “Oh! That reminds me of my friend… Wait, I probably shouldn’t say… Well here it is.” And suddenly that time you were a clown for children’s parties for three months a few summers ago is public knowledge. It comes out of making connections—both intellectually and socially—and secrets have a way of tumbling out. 

Their secret struggle: Their brain makes connections faster than their mouth can filter them out. They hear the words being said in slow motion—they’re watching themselves betray you and they can’t stop it! The guilt is already crushing them before they finish the sentence. They’ll confess, apologize, and possibly bring you cookies. 

14. The Living Highlight Reel, ESTP

ESTPs are fun and dynamic, living in the moment with whirlwind spontaneity. They love a good story, a stimulating conversation, and your secret may just be the doorway to both. It’s not cruel or intentional, they just aren’t particularly concerned with what’s confidential and what’s not. Their ability to enjoy the present sometimes means they don’t carefully categorize what information is sensitive, and your secret can become part of a particularly interesting conversation. 

Tell an ESTP about your embarrassing medical procedure, and it may become their next hilarious anecdote. They won’t drag you to the middle of it. It may just be shared as, “Oh I have a friend who…” It’s not to humiliate you, it’s because they genuinely think everyone will find it as funny as they do. And honestly, they’re usually right. Everyone is laughing, including you. 

Their secret struggle: The ESTP doesn’t hold a lot of secrets themselves, so they’re not totally sure why you’re upset they shared your secret. It was harmless, everyone had a great time, and there’s no real fallout here. What’s the problem? 

15. The No-Nonsense Manager, ESTJ

An ESTJ is honest and direct to a fault. While they are loyal and responsible, they also believe in straightforward communication and practical solutions. The emotional nuances of secret-keeping are not particularly interesting or accessible for them. They’d rather rip off the band-aid than spend any additional time coaxing it off in a less painful way. The faster you get to the healing part of the process, the better. 

If you tell an ESTJ that you’re unhappy in your marriage, but aren’t ready to do anything about it, they may bring it up directly with you and your spouse because it’s the most straightforward path to resolution. In their mind, they’re helping you, while to you it may look like they created a crisis. An ESTJ is not interested in drama, they want results no matter how messy it gets. 

Their secret struggle: They don’t understand why it’s seen as a character flaw to share practical information to the relevant parties. It’s efficient. They did what needed to be done. 

16. The Life of the Party, ESFP

ESFPs make social butterflies look shy. They live in the moment, are emotionally expressive, and genuinely don’t have much of a filter. They are some of the warmest, most fun-loving people you’ll meet, but if you share a secret with them, you’d better hope it’s not particularly interesting. They’ll go with the flow in a social setting and if the energy is right and conversation is relevant, it’s going to slip out one way or another. 

You share the location and details of a secret tattoo because, well, if anyone is going to understand and find it entertaining, your ESFP friend will! But when the topic of conversation resurfaces at your next party, everyone will know and your secret tattoo will be not-so-secret anymore. The upside, if ever there is one, is that the ESFP will make you sound amazing in their retelling. Their enthusiasm is so infectious that you may not even stay mad. 

Their secret struggle: The ESFP can’t remember if your secret is actually a secret. Really. They thought you were just sharing! Are you sure you told them it was confidential? 

So Can You Keep a Secret?

Secret keeping isn’t about being good or bad, it’s about how your brain is wired to process and deal with new information. Introverted-Thinkers are naturally private and process internally, while the Extraverted Feelers just want to connect and share. 

So if you find yourself with a massive secret, your resident ISTJ will lock it down tight. 

You can probably trust a secret to a few ISFPs or INFPs, so long as it doesn’t cause harm to anyone. 

And a fun secret you wouldn’t be mad if it got out? Your ENFP will celebrate with you and only tell like, 6-8 people. Tops. 

And if you’re still not sure who to trust, there’s always your therapist. Though let’s be honest, they’re probably an INFJ losing sleep over everyone else’s life choices.