In these cases, if the password is stolen or tracked down with some deception, every online service to which you are subscribed becomes at risk and easily accessible by strangers. At the same time, however, it is difficult to remember different and complex passwords from memory for each web account and it is easy to forget them. For this reason, I have been created password managers, i.e. online services where store all credentials and login data to the sites once and for all protect access via a master password (the only one to remember!).
In this guide we will show you in detail the best apps with which to manage passwords on Android and iPhone, to synchronize the credentials for accessing websites between devices, including computers.
Password managers for smartphones and tablets
The password manager works intelligently, filling in the access fields of a site automatically, leaving the user only the task of writing the master password which becomes the only one to remember.
Passwords are stored encrypted on a secure server and become available on every used computer and on Android, iPhone, and iPad smartphones and tablets.
Google password manager
If we do not want to use any external service, we can rely on the synchronization service offered by Google.
As a first step, we open Google Chrome on our PC, login with the Google account we intend to use, press the account icon at the top right, click on the small padlock key icon and activate the two switches present in the window, that is Ask to save passwords is Automatic login.
From now on all the passwords of the sites we access can be saved on our Google account, confirming the saving in the small window that will appear on the sites after logging in.
In order to use these passwords also on Android we turn on our smartphone or tablet with the green robot as the operating system, we use the same account used on the Chrome for PC then we open the app Settings, we press on the menu Google, then on Manage your Google Account, scroll through the various tabs until we get in Safety, scroll down to find the menu Password manager, press on the gear symbol at the top right and activate the same switches seen on Chrome for PC, i.e. Ask to save passwords is Automatic login.
From now on, the Android system will allow you to access the sites and apps with the credentials in our possession and to immediately save the unknown passwords, even if you insert them into the apps.
With this method, you only need to know Google credentials to be able to carry all the passwords with us; to increase the security of your Google account, let’s rely on two-factor authentication without delay, as seen also in our guide Google and Gmail login and login with 2-step verification.
Apple password manager
Apple also allows you to save and manage all the credentials that we enter from the Safari browser on Mac so that we can reuse them on Safari for iPhone / iPad (or vice versa).
To activate password synchronization on Mac or MacBook, press the Apple symbol at the top left, click on System preferences, press on Apple ID, then on iCloud (in the sidebar), and finally make sure the item is checked Keychain.
Let’s go now on our iPhone or iPad, log in with the same Apple ID used on the Mac then press on the app Settings, press on the Apple ID at the top, press on iCloud, select the menu Keychain and turn the switch on an iCloud keyring.
From now on, all the passwords entered in Safari and the credit cards used for purchases will be kept online and can be used quickly on all our Apple devices (i.e. those connected under the same Apple ID).
The keychain function cannot be activated without two-factor authentication: to activate it also on the Apple account we read our guide Sites/apps where you can activate 2-step password verification.
Other services and apps to manage passwords
If we do not want to use the integrated systems on Android and iOS, we can rely on numerous online services for password management, all very secure and efficient.
Among the most famous and reliable we find without a shadow of a doubt LastPass, available for Android and for iPhone / iPad.
With this service, we can save the passwords that we use on browsers and in apps and automatically fill in the access fields every time we access an app or site from a smartphone or tablet. The application is free for personal use and does not present any restrictions regarding the number of devices that can be associated.
The first real alternative to LastPass is 1Password, also available for Android and for iPhone / iPad.
1Password creates unique and impossible to decipher passwords for each site and uses them automatically when requested. This is an effective and inviolable service for managing passwords on the internet, with many features including those of synchronizing information on PC and Mac.
1Password is free for a 30-day trial, requiring payment of a license at the end.
If we are looking for a storage system that is always free, not based on third-party services or servers and therefore with full respect for privacy, we recommend installing KeePass on PC and its associated apps, that is Keepass2Android (Android) and KeePass Touch (iPhone / iPad).
To use it as a substitute for the online services seen so far, simply create a new password database from a PC and save it in a synchronized folder in the cloud, for example on Google Drive. Once the file is saved on the cloud, we install the apps indicated above, we provide permissions to access the Google Drive folders and we open the KeePass database so that we have everything synchronized on each device in our possession.
To learn more, we can also read our guides Best free password manager: Keepass is KeePass on Android and iPhone: how to save passwords on a personal cloud.
If we want to try other apps and similar services we can take a look at the following list:
- mSecure – Password Manager (Android – iPhone): mSecure is used by nearly one million users worldwide, providing the best and most reliable solution for storing and synchronizing important data. mSecure uses ultra-secure 256-bit Blowfish encryption to protect any type of personal information you want to remember such as account numbers, usernames, passwords, and anything else you want. mSecure supports private wireless networks and Dropbox to synchronize data between mobile devices and desktop computers. mSecure is not free but requires the purchase of the program or application with a one-off cost.
- Dashlane (Android – iPhone): Dashlane makes it possible to record and store the passwords used on the internet with auto-login and automatic filling. Dashlane can be used free on every computer and smartphone, even if a subscription is required for the synchronization between devices.
- Bitwarden (Android – iPhone): an excellent password manager with open source technology, so as to always have maximum security and privacy on any device.
Just try them all and choose the one that best suits your needs.
Conclusions
Saving the most complex passwords and always remembering them is now possible, just rely on one of the services and apps that we showed you in the guide, so you never have to use simple passwords or repeated passwords again (definitely a gift that we make to all hackers ).
Always with a password theme, we advise you to read the guide How to Generate Strong and Rememberable Passwords for All Websites, so as to learn the tricks needed to generate new strong passwords.
If, on the other hand, we want to find out if our password has already been discovered or compromised, just read our article Password warning compromised or already used by Google.
