Google Smart Lock
Before installing third-party apps, if you use a device Android, I highly recommend you try Google Smart Lock. This is a service offered for free by Google, thanks to which you can save your passwords on the cloud and synchronize them with extreme simplicity on all devices. This way, every time you log into an account from your smartphone or Android tablet or browser Google Chrome, you can conveniently save and use the passwords connected to the accounts you use and not enter them manually from time to time.
Would you like to know how to activate Google Smart Lock on your Android device? Nothing could be simpler: start the app Google settings on your device and (if you don't see the Google Settings app open the app Settings of your device, scroll down the page, press on the item Google services), as soon as you have access to the Google settings, scroll the page that appears on the screen, presses on the item Smart Lock for passwords and, on the page that opens, set to ON l'interruttore situato accanto alla voce Smart Lock for passwords.
To activate Google Smart Lock on your PC, instead, start the browser Google Chrome, click the symbol (...) which is located at the top right and, in the menu that opens, click on the item Settings.
On the page that opens, click on the item Advanced and, in section Password and Modules, click sull'opzione Manage passwords. At this point a box should open: set to ON the toggle of the first switch and activate the option Automatic access by setting to ON the lever of the second switch.
For more details regarding this service offered by Google, I suggest you consult the Google Smart Lock page that has been set up on the Mountain View giant's website.
ICloud Keychain
You have a iPhone, an iPad or Mac? Well, in that case you can keep your passwords using the ICloud Keychain, a tool made available by Apple, thanks to which it is possible to save on the cloud and synchronize on all your devices the passwords of your accounts, the numbers of your credit cards and even the passwords of the Wi-Fi networks to which you are colleague.
To activate iCloud Keychain on your iOS device, launch the app Settings (the gray icon with the gear), tap the you don't know and then press on the item iCloud. In the screen that opens, tap on the item Keychains and move up ON the switch lever located next to the item ICloud Keychain.
The procedure to follow on your Mac to activate iCloud Keychain is just as simple. First, click on the Apple logo located in the menu bar (top left) and, in the menu that appears, select the option System preference.
After that, click on the icon iCloud in the window that appears and scroll through the list of options you see on the screen by hanging the checkmark next to the item Keychains. Did you see how simple it was?
You can only use iCloud Keychain if you have an iPhone or iPad updated to iOS 7.0.3 (and later) or if you have a Mac updated to macOS 10.9 (and later). For more info and details on the service, see the special page that Apple has made available to users.
Third party password manager
After briefly examining some solutions included "natively" on Android and iOS devices, it is time to see what the password app third parties that you can use to keep the access keys to your accounts in a safe "place".
Some of the solutions that I will propose below you probably already know, since I told you about them in the guide on how to manage passwords. In this circumstance, however, we will not talk about how to use these password manager in the desktop environment (since I have already talked about them extensively in the guide that I have linked to you just now), but we will see how to use them on mobile devices. Agree? Well, then I'd say start!
1Password (Android / iOS)
1Password is one of the most appreciated password managers by users, thanks to which it is possible not only to keep the access keys to their accounts, but also confidential documents (bank details, personal files, identity documents, etc.) and synchronize everything on the cloud on all major mobile and desktop platforms: Android, iOS, Windows and macOS.
As can be easily understood, quality is paid for and in fact 1Password is not a free service: after a trial period of 30 days you have to subscribe to continue using it. At the time of this writing, you can subscribe to a plan from 4,49 euro / month or a family plan from 7,49 euro / month billed annually (therefore to be paid in a single installment for the whole year). In any case, the advice I give you is to try the 30Password trial for 1 days and then decide whether to subscribe to the service or not.
After downloading 1Password on your Android or iOS device, start the app and tap the button My trial period begins to start the 1Password trial. Then enter your e-mail address in the field Your Email and tap the button Continue. After a few minutes you will be sent an email to the address you have just provided containing a verification code of 6 digits. To continue creating your account, enter the verification code you received in the appropriate field of 1Password and press the button Continue.
In the screen that opens, enter your name in the field First Name, your last name in the field Last Name and presses the button again Continue. Now the highlight of the recording has come: the creation of the master password, that is the security key that will allow you to access 1Password and, consequently, all your passwords. Please, create a password that is sufficiently secure and keep it away from prying eyes because, as I have already told you, this access key will allow you to access the passwords of all your accounts.
Once you have entered the master password in the relevant text field, press the button Continue and, in the screen you see below, confirm by entering the master password again in the appropriate field and pressing the button Sign In. If your device has a fingerprint sensor or facial recognition sensor, you can also use the related biometric sensors to log in to 1Password.
Once logged in, you can start saving and organizing your numerous passwords by pressing the symbol capacitor positive (+) lead and, in the menu that opens, by tapping on the item Login and selecting the account you want to protect (Google, Facebook, gmail, Yahoo!, Amazon, YouTube, Twitter, etc.). Now carefully follow the instructions that appear on the screen to complete the operation, perform the same procedure for all the accounts you want to protect with 1Password and the game will be done.
I remind you that 1Password includes an excellent password generator thanks to which you can create new and, above all, secure passwords. When you store a new password on 1Password, you can use the password generator simply by pressing the option Generate Password which is shown to you in the form you use to save your passwords. Thanks to this convenient function, you will no longer have to worry about which password to create, as 1Password will generate highly secure access keys.
Ah… I almost forgot! If you finally decide not to subscribe to 1Password, remember to cancel your subscription before the 30 day free trial ends by going to Settings> 1Password Account> [your name].
Interested in knowing how to use 1Password in the desktop environment? In this case I suggest you read the article in which I explain how to manage passwords and there you will find all the information you need!
KeePass
Another great solution I want to tell you about is KeePass: it is a free and open source service that can be used easily in both desktop and mobile environments. As for the use of the desktop version of KeePass, I refer you once again to the article in which I explain how to manage passwords, while below you will find information on how to use this service on your smartphone and on your Android or iOS tablet.
Before doing this, however, I want to tell you that currently there is no official app that allows you to access KeePass on the go. It is however possible to install independent apps that “rely” on the service in order to use it on smartphones and tablets. Here are some of the most interesting examples.
KeePass2Android (Android)
If you want to use KeePass to protect your passwords on your smartphone or tablet Android, you consiglio di provare Keepass2 Android, a free app that is particularly appreciated by the users of the “green robot”.
After completing the download of Keepass2Android on your smartphone or tablet, start the app and press the button Open file ... to select a database file with passwords. Don't have a database file containing your passwords? In this case, presses on the voice Create a new database ... and create a new one.
If you decide to opt for this second solution, choose whether to save the file in .kdbx on your device or on a cloud storage service, press the button Change position and enter in the field Password the master password (i.e. your master password) that will be responsible for protecting it. If you want to create a secure password, I suggest you press the symbol (...) to use the password generator included in Keepass2Android. Once you have completed this operation, all you have to do is tap the button Create database.
At this point, in the screen that opens, presses on the symbol capacitor positive (+) lead, premi sull'icona della key and, in the drop-down menu that appears, choose the type of data you want to keep away from prying eyes: Default item, Credit card and so on. To save the password, all you have to do is press the icon Save and close the database by pressing onlock icon (in alto to destra).
KeePass Touch (iOS / iPadOS)
If you want to use KeePass to protect your passwords on your iPhone or your iPad, you consiglio di provare KeePass Touch.: a free app that, in addition to allowing you to securely store passwords on your device, also allows you to generate secure passwords using a tool included "as standard" and to create KeePass 1.x and 2.x files. Basically the app is free, but by making in-app purchases starting from € 1,09 you can remove the advertising banners and use the automatic password synchronization function.
If you have downloaded KeePass Touch on your device, start the app and press the button capacitor positive (+) lead (bottom right). Then select the wording Import to import a database containing the saved passwords or, if you do not have one available, create it at the moment by selecting the wording Create New Database. If you have chosen the latter option, fill in the fields Your name, Password e Confirm Password to specify the name to assign to the encrypted database and the master password to protect it. When you are ready to do it, tap on the voice end, located at the top right, so you can continue.
In the new screen that is shown to you, tap the name that you gave to the database, indicates the Password to access it in the appropriate text field and press on the wording end (top right). Now, indicate the type of information you want to contain in the database (eg. Internet, etc.), presses the button capacitor positive (+) lead located at the bottom right, tap on the wording Voice and fill out the appropriate form indicating user, Password, Expiration date password, and so on. Finally, press on the voice end (in alto to destra).
Password app