Best Password Managers for Android

And with features like an encrypted vault containing app logins and passwords fetched from your desktop browser or the autofilling of credentials into their respective input boxes, these tools provide the exact things that they were intended for: convenience and security.

Risks of free password manager apps

Everybody knows that all major web browsers are available as apps and that they are all equipped with free built-in password managers capable of saving and then recalling any of your logins any time they are needed. However, no matter how convenient this option may seem, the use of these password managers is a serious security risk, which is especially true for the mobile version of Chrome – which is as vulnerable security-wise as its desktop counterpart. The vaults of these password managers aren’t as protected as a true password management program, not to mention that they aren’t even properly encrypted, meaning that any hacker could access and steal the vault’s content with ease.

Thankfully, all of the major password management services that have taken a closer look at offer their apps for free, only requiring you to create an account. Granted, the free plans of these services are often a bit limited – typically lacking cloud syncing between devices, for example – but they still provide the necessary amount of protection for your logins and other credentials.

Importing and syncing password data

Password managers are desktop-based programs first, meaning that despite sharing the most important features the app version of the service will never be as complete as its desktop counterpart.

This involves the importing of passwords as well; password management apps are simply incapable of importing existing passwords from either the device’s default browser or from an exported file. Admittedly, there are rare exceptions like Sticky Password that allow you to manually add a password database file after it is exported from the company’s Windows/macOS program, but in most cases the only option to fill the app’s vault is by having the computer version and activating cloud syncing – a feature that is only available for premium subscribers.

Thankfully, cloud syncing is flawless and, most importantly, secure. Once all the passwords are fetched from the browser and are stored in the desktop password manager’s vault, the only task then is to enable the cloud sync function and the next time you sign into the mobile app those credentials will be waiting for you in the app’s vault as well.

Password security on Android

The overall password security of Android devices is not bad at all. Even though many models still provide unlock patterns, which are by far the worst way of protecting the device, the newest Android phones feature biometric authentication methods like fingerprint detection or voice passwords that are much harder to crack.

Google, on the other hand, is a terrible friend. Not only are its services gluttonous RAM guzzlers taking up valuable memory space but they also don’t protect users’ data as they should. Admittedly, the built-in password manager of the default Chrome mobile browser is an exception, since it is at least capable of password-protecting the vault with the default Google account password. However, if that password is somehow sniffed then nothing will stop wrongdoers from accessing any other credentials saved to Google’s servers.

This is why using the appropriate protection on Android devices is essential. We have already explained how password managers and all of their features – particularly the built-in safe browsers – can effectively protect you, but for the ultimate defense against hackers it’s highly recommended to use a VPN that makes your online activities completely invisible, and therefore allowing you to surf the web without fear of data theft.