Wednesday App Review: Password Manager

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In today’s digital age, it seems like everything requires a password. And while we all know that the most secure solution is to have a separate password for each account, in reality most people opt for the simplicity of using the same password for everything. Believe me, I’m guilty of it too. But the better and more secure solution is to use a password manager app. Of course, there’s no shortage of those and finding a good one can be quite a challenge. I’ve actually had a lot of people ask me for recommendations on password managers over the years, and there certainly isn’t any shortage of them on the Google Play store. However, the deeper I looked, the less and less I liked the apps that I found. Most of them require tons of permissions, connect to the internet or require a monthly subscription in order to actually use it. You all know that I don’t mind paying for an app, but having to make a monthly payment to access my passwords doesn’t seem right. Fortunately, I’m not the only one who was dismayed by the choices available on the App store. German app developer Mirko Häberlin had the exact same issue. But unlike me, he did something about it. Häberlin originally developed the app when he discovered that his girlfriend was keeping all of her account passwords written on a piece of paper in her wallet. When he went to set her up with a password manager, he ran into quite a bit of trouble finding one that fit his criteria: that it not connect to the Internet. So, since he was an Android developer, he decided to create one. Unlike other popular password manager apps, Häberlin’s Password Manager is extremely simple. It doesn’t require any internet connection (of course) so you know it isn’t storing your passwords somewhere that can be hacked. The downside is that if you forget the master password you set, then there is no way to recover it. So make sure it’s something you won’t forget! Password Manager can store as many passwords as you like and even includes a complex password generator so you can have a 100% unique password for each site. The app is a pretty small download and the interface is intuitive with a clean Android Lollipop look. Basically, if you’ve been on the fence in trying to find a great app that can help keep track of all of your passwords, then this app is definitely worth looking into. There is one small hitch that I feel I ought to warn users about. The app itself currently supports a function where you can save passwords to the clipboard to easier paste them into login boxes. While convenient, this does tend to leave the password stored in the phone’s clipboard for a while. It’s not the biggest security hole and Häberlin said a fix is in the works. However, copying usernames and passwords is optional and definitely does not warrant skipping over this awesome app. Currently, Password Manager is free to download from the Google Play Store for all Android devices. When you download it, the app is going to mention ‘In-app purchases’ which is there solely for users to donate to the developer. And while I highly recommend supporting developer who create awesome apps, it certainly isn’t required. For more information or updates on the app, you can check out the Facebook page.]]>

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