The problem with built-in password managers

Think before entrusting all your logins to Apple, Google, or Microsoft

- JARED NEWMAN

In recent years, it’s gotten a lot easier to have better password hygiene without using a dedicated password manager (fave.co/3lRkfRz). Thanks to built-in password management tools on iOS and Android, and at the browser level on Chrome and Microsoft Edge, you can create secure passwords with minimal efforts. These tools are becoming increasingly sophisticated, such that a separate password manager might not be necessary.

But before you tie all your logins with the likes of Google, Apple, and Microsoft, take some time to consider the trade-offs. In exchange for the convenience of their built-in solutions, you’ll lose both the freedom and features that a proper password manager provides.

BUILT-IN OPTIONS ARE IMPROVING

Relying solely on your web browser for password management used to be a laughable concept.

Sure, the auto-fill features in Chrome, Firefox, and other browsers made logging into websites easier, but they didn’t help you log into apps on your phone. They also didn’t include some features that were table stakes in dedicated password managers, such as the ability to generate secure passwords when signing up for new services.

As a result, they didn’t deliver the main benefit of using a dedicated password manager such as Dashlane or Bitwarden, which is to keep you from using the same weak passwords everywhere (fave.co/ 3aXBOgj).

But a lot has changed since then: