The best free password manager to use in 2021

Using a password manager is the best step you can take to make your security online. A good password manager makes it easy to create unique, strong passwords, and it will then protect them securely, so that they are available wherever you need them, whether it is on your phone, laptop, tablet, or desktop computer. Basically, they remove 90 percent of work online from being safe.

Hopefully, at this point everyone knows why it is important to use a unique password for all your accounts online. But the short version is that using a password everywhere means that if just one site you use is hacked, the attacker potentially has a password that unlocks your entire life. A breach still occurs if you use a password manager, but at that point it is simply a matter of resetting only one password instead of dozens.

Although different password managers have different selling points, most provide a basic set of similar features. They generate passwords that they securely store, and when you use them on websites, they will prompt you to save passwords. They will sync your password across devices and autofill them into websites and apps when needed.

There are many good password managers available that charge a monthly fee, but for this guide we are going to focus on free services. All of these have paid subscription tiers, but for most, the free tier provides the essential features of a password manager.

Our pick for the best is Bitwarden for most people.

Best for most people: Bitwarden

BitWorden basically has everything you can do outside of the password manager. It is available on iOS and Android; It has native desktop applications on Windows, MacOS and Linux; And it integrates with every major browser including Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge.

Bitword security has also been audited Third-party security company, And although it uses the cloud to sync your passwords between devices, it says Stores them in encrypted form Only you can unlock. You also have the option to protect your BitWorden account with two-factor authentication to provide an extra layer of security.

Our passwords were easy to import, and BitWorden has guides for many popular password managers. In its support pages. It supports biometric security on iOS and Android, and all of its software is well designed and easy to use.

Bitwarden has paid tier, but we think most people will be able to do without all the features that they offer. Paying gives you reports on encrypted file attachments, more second-factor security options, and overall security of the passwords you use. But even on the free tier, you can check to see if different passwords have been leaked in a password breech. Paying gives you access to the built-in one-time code generator for two-factor authentication, but using a separate app is easier and arguably safer.

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runner up

As part of our research, we also tried several other password managers. Of these, Joho Vault is another feature-packed free option, but its interface is not as good as BitWorden.

Joho Vault

Picture: Zoho

Zoho Vault’s iOS and Android apps are quite good, but its browser extension is a bit clooney and leaves useful features like its password generator behind one to many sub-menus. It is also unclear whether the software has gone through a third-party security audit; The company did not respond to our query in time for publication.

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Too-rans

There were two other free password managers that we felt were not up to the standards of BitWorden and Zoho Vault. Norton Password Manager has the advantage of coming from a well-known cyber security company. But the way we found efforts to simplify its installation process actually made things more confusing, and Norton’s support page didn’t help us work out where we were wrong. Norton did not respond to our email about whether the software had gone through a third-party security audit.

We also tried LogMeOnce, but we were not convinced of the presence of advertisements in its smartphone app. It has also asked for many more permissions than other password managers we have tried. The company states that this is required to enable its Mugshot feature, which attempts to give you information about unauthorized attempts to access your account, which is an optional feature. The company says it regularly hires third-party security researchers to test its products.

Until recently, LastPass was included as a free password manager, but it is making some changes to its free tier on March 16, which means it is much less usable as a free password manager. Will happen. After that date, free users will be able to view and manage passwords on only one category of devices: mobile or computer. “Mobile” customers will have access to phones, tablets, and smartwatches, while “computer” customers will be able to use the service in PC, Mac, and browser extensions. Given how most people switch between these two classes of devices on a daily basis, we think it will be severely limited by how useful LastPass’s free tier will be to most people.

Our focus on simplicity also means that we have dropped out KeePass, A password manager that relies on third-party apps on non-Windows platforms. In addition, if you want to sync your password between devices, you will have to use third-party storage services such as Dropbox or Google Drive.