eli5 Password manager apps

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I‘d not consider myself technologically unsavvy but I can‘t really understand how a password managing app on my phone can keep my passwords safe?
By that I don‘t mean what kind of encryption technology is used, I just can‘t believe that I really CAN trust a company not giving/selling all my passwords (or losing them to a hack).
That‘s also the reason why I never use apples pw manager for example.

Am I overly cautious? Is it safe to store my passwords in a pw manager app?

Maybe someone that understands the technology/encryption behind such apps can help me

In: Technology

15 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

I wouldn’t imagine them outright selling passwords as that would lead to the mother of all cybersec lawsuits if discovered (plus a properly engineered manager does not give the platform access to your passwords), but you’re right to worry about a hack. Lastpass was famously hacked a couple times and had users’ (encrypted) passwords stolen. There is always a risk of that, but the risk of using bad passwords and the inconvenience of constantly forgetting good ones outweighs it for most people.

If you pick a trusted provider with a good track record, the chances of a hack are very slim and if you use a strong master password coupled with 2FA, the chances of anyone getting anything useful out of that hack is even slimmer.

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