Our online accounts are a massive source of information about us, our habits, hobbies, activities, plans, and more. They have grown into virtual diaries of our lives, and when put together, they provide a clear image of who we are, what we have been through, and what our plans are. This is important knowledge, and it can provide insight to anyone who gets it.
Because of it, it is extremely important to protect it and prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. The alternative might lead to a world of trouble, starting with the theft of our funds, to identity theft, privacy exposure, and everything in between. The first and most important step you must take to prevent this is to create a strong, secure password — a different one for each online account you own.
The problem is that people often don’t tend to think highly of their accounts’ value. They don’t see themselves as important enough for hackers to strike. What they do not realize is that bad actors might not target them, but still affect them as part of a larger campaign. This especially includes devices which we don’t even think of protecting, such as our phones.
The awareness of computers’ vulnerability has finally reached us enough to start taking different measures of protection. But, your phone remains just as vulnerable (if not more due to public Wi-Fi). This is why protecting your passwords is imperative, and the easiest way to do so on your Android is to use password managers.
1. LastPass
Download hereEditors’ choice 2020
tekcompareLastPass is known throughout the world as the best choice among password managers for Android — or any other device and system, while we are at it. The service offers a free version, but it also has a premium one, with a base price of $24 per year. While this may sound expensive at first, it is a yearly plan, and it is quite affordable when compared to some of its competitors.
LastPass is a cloud-only service, meaning that it has no local vault. Its products come as browser extensions, which allows it to work on Android, as well as any other system that has browsers. It also features a security challenge, which is one of its major traits. Simply put, it will go through your password database and determine how many accounts have the same passwords, and which passwords are weak.
It allows you to update or store your passwords automatically, and it fetches your login data automatically when it detects a website with stored login info.
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Automatic login
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Storing an unlimited number of passwords
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It has a free version
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Stores and updates passwords automatically
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Determines password strength and duplicate passwords
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You have to pay for some additional security features
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Cloud-based storage only
2. Dashlane
Download hereDashlane is a close second to LastPass on a global scale, but that does not mean that it does things wrong. In fact, there are many who prefer it, as it is extremely easy to use, even if you never used a password manager before. It offers numerous features, as well as an elegant interface.
Dashlane is known for being organized, and even LastPass recently started adopting this style. With Dashlane, all of your accounts can be displayed as tiles, and with the arrival of version 4, you can even see them sorted in a list. Each tile offers its own menu which you can use for editing the information regarding your accounts, store and update passwords, and even see your own password history.
Another one of its major features is Dashlane’s security dashboard. It will give you your overall security rating, as calculated from the strength of your current passwords. It will also offer suggestions regarding which passwords might need upgrading and improving.
Its other features include auto-login, auto-fill, secure sharing, secure notes, and even emergency contacts. It is a great option for your Android, and it will help you improve the safety of your passwords, accounts, and private information. However, if you plan to sync your Dashlane with different devices, you will have to use its Dashlane Premium, which costs $40 per year.
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Automatic login and form-filling
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Automatically change passwords on 500 websites
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Precise analysis of your overall password strength
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Suggestions regarding which passwords need upgrading
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Offers a free version
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Syncing with other devices requires Dashlane Premium
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Premium version is expensive
3. Keeper
Download hereNext, there is Keeper, which offers a large number of supported browsers, devices, and systems — Android included.
Keeper is known for putting security above all else, but that being said — it lacks some automated features. When signing up, you create a master password, and you can also select a security question for the purpose of recovering your account. It will also provide you with two-factor authentication.
It will also walk you through a quick start checklist, which has four steps — creating your record, installing the browser extension, uploading your first file, and enabling 2FA. After that, you will be all set, although, depending on the browser you are using, it might not automatically capture your login credentials. Instead, you will have to do it manually in some cases. Additionally, it will not automatically fill in the forms during login.
Another thing to keep in mind is that Keeper is a premium service, with a price of $25.49 per year. However, it does offer a free trial, and you can use it for free on a single device. You will also enjoy a number of features, like software development kit, it can generate passwords, rate your existing passwords’ strength, and it offers bio-metric login for Android.
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Generates strong, 51-character long passwords
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Offers a number of premium features
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Rates password strength
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Secure note sharing
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Automatic login credential capturing in some browsers
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Free on a single device
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Lack of most automated features
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Does not fill web forms automatically
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You have to pay in order to sync it among multiple devices
4. Sticky Password
Download hereSticky Password is another great password manager, although it is less known than most others. However, it offers all the important features, but its interface is not as polished as others. Even so, it works perfectly well on Android, and you can be sure that it will get the job done, even though it is not among the most popular managers.
Like most other password managers, Sticky Password will require you to create a master password. However, one reason why it is not up there with the best is that it lacks a way to recover or reset the password in case you forget it. Because of that, make sure to use something you will remember, but also ensure that it is a strong password that no one else will be able to easily guess.
However, Sticky Password does have a unique feature, which is asking you if you wish to sync data over its cloud network or to use your own Wi-Fi network. In other words, your devices will only sync when you connect to your own Wi-Fi, meaning that your data will never reach the internet itself. This is a great additional security layer which you will not see anywhere else.
Other than that, it offers the usual features, such as automatically capturing your login information, auto filling credentials, and it even allows you to store multiple account data for the same website — a feature that lacks on some of the major managers. If that ends up being the case — a pop-up window will offer you all of the stored options for you to choose from.
Another great feature is storing application logins, which is also not seen particularly often. There is also a password generator, as well as password security detection system which will inform you of your password’s strength rating, as well as percentage.
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Free to use on a single device
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Allows you to sync your Android with other devices via your own Wi-Fi
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All automated features are enabled
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Offers 2FA
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Password generator and strength detection
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The interface looks dated and lacks aesthetics
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No secure password sharing
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The master password cannot be restored if forgotten
5. 1Password
Download hereFinally, there is 1Password — a manager that was designed in 2006, and the company’s original intent was only to cover Mac. However, over the years, they expanded the service to include all other major systems and devices, and it currently works great with Android.
1Password has some unique features, the biggest of which is the setup process itself. When you enter your name, the app will generate a secret key, which is 34-characters long. After that, it will allow you to create a master password, like previous services. However, whenever you need to access your data from a new device, you will have to use the combination of these two keys to unlock and unencrypt your passwords. This is an excellent addition to security, although it will require that you remember these two keys.
To make matters simpler, 1Password will also offer you the ability to create an Emergency Kit, that will store your secret key, and you can even write in your master password. The information will then be saved as PDF, and you can store it in a safe place, such as the USB or a safe.
As for other features, 1Password will store your login credentials automatically when you log into a website, but it will not display them afterward. Instead, you will have to open a browser button to see the available logins. However, it will remember every login and store them in a list. It will also check your passwords and detect ones that it considered too weak.
Further, it will offer a password generator, store your identity profiles, as well as credit card data.
Its price for a single user is $35.88 per year, while a family plan costs $59.88. However, whichever plan you choose, you will be able to sync the manager across all of your devices. If you are unsure whether or not this is the right password manager for your Android, you can check it out for free for 30 days. After that, however, it will require a payment in order to continue to work.
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Password generator
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Secure storing of passwords, notes, personal data, credit card info, and more
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Allows syncing with different devices
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Family plan covers five people
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No automated features for logging in and password updating
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Hands-on management
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Premium service
What is a password manager and why do you need it?
Password managers are online services which can provide you with a piece of software that will keep your passwords safe. Depending on the provider, you may end up with additional features and benefits, but the most important part — one that every password manager can do — is keeping your passwords stored and safe.
In most cases, this will allow you to create long, strong, complex passwords that cannot be guessed easily, but it will also spare you from having to remember them. Simply store the password into the manager, either manually or automatically while creating new accounts on different sites, and the manager will fetch them whenever you try to log into one of your accounts.
Some managers can also generate new passwords instead of you. This is very beneficial for the safety of your accounts, as the password will be completely random, and no human mind will ever be able to predict it or guess it.
Here is a list of benefits that most password managers for Android can grant you:
- Random password generator
- Saved logins
- Multi-factor authentication
- Cloud storage
- Automatic password-changing
- Licenses for multiple devices
- Password change detection
- Recording login credentials during the creation of new accounts
- Fingerprint or biometric authentication
With that in mind, here are five best password managers that you can use on your Android device.
Conclusion
Using your Android is convenient, but the device is still quite vulnerable. This can lead to hacking incidents where your passwords might fall into the wrong hands. By using a password manager, you can prevent this from happening, and even if one of your passwords does get stolen, the attacker will not be able to access all of your accounts. To make this happen, create strong passwords, different for each of your accounts, and store them in one of the password managers, which will keep it safe, but still well-organized and easily accessible for those with permission.