For the best security you should use a different, long password for each account. Of course, no-one can remember hundreds of different password and email combinations but that’s where a password manager comes in. Better still, it will work across all your devices and all you have to remember is one password to access all your logins. You should use a really strong password for that, but on most phones and some laptops you can use your fingerprint or a passcode to log in to the manager after entering that password for the first time. Never forget it (and write it down somewhere), but you won’t have to remember or enter it regularly. Although iPhones and iPads will save website logins, they don’t do the same for apps and you can’t use Keychain on any of your non-Apple devices, which is another reason to use a password manager instead. We’re using Bitwarden as an example, but you can find alternatives in our roundup of the best password managers. In general, password managers all work in the same way. Once you’ve signed up for an account, you can use the email address and password you signed up with to log into the app on your phone, or the extension in a web browser such as Chrome. When using a password manager on your phone, you need to grant your password manager permission to display over other apps and websites which means enabling the accessibility service. This should only ever be done for trustworthy apps such as Bitwarden. But you can add a new login manually by clicking on the Bitwarden icon in your browser, then clicking the + symbol to the right of the search bar. Your passwords should sync across all your devices, so when you do install and sign into Bitwarden on your phone, you’ll find all the logins you’ve imported or added are there. Most password managers store your logins securely (using encryption) in the cloud. For each device or web browser, all you have to do it install the app or browser extension, sign in with that master email address and password and you have access to all your saved logins. Most password managers, including Bitwarden, can also store other sensitive data such as your credit and debit card details, and then enter these into the correct fields when you’re paying for things on websites. Once you’ve added all your apps and websites, you’ll be able to log into them safely and swiftly without having to remember any of them, and without compromising their security.
Related articles for further reading
Best password managersHow to Create a Strong Password – and Remember itIs it safe to use LastPass?How to use a password generator, and where to find one
Jim has been testing and reviewing products for over 20 years. His main beats include VPN services and antivirus. He also covers smart home tech, mesh Wi-Fi and electric bikes.