A password manager can be an extremely useful thing to have in your digital armoury. It’s a piece of software that generates, collects and stores your passwords, then encrypts them behind a master password.
As it’s highly discouraged to reuse passwords between sites or write them down, and with strong passwords made up of a jumble of letters, numbers and punctuation marks being something of a pain to remember, using one of the best password managers can be a useful way to increase your online security level, while making it quicker and easier to log in to sites.
There is a range of password managers available on the market but, for this review, I’ll be focusing on Proton Pass, which makes a neat complement to Proton’s other products: Proton Drive, Proton Mail and Proton VPN, one of our top picks for the best VPNs. They’re all privacy-focused, with end-to-end encryption, a base in Switzerland that puts them out of US jurisdiction, with no links to tech firms such as Microsoft and Google.
This has seen Proton become quite popular, even though some of its products can lag behind more-established peers – its document editor in Proton Drive is no match for the likes of Microsoft’s Office web apps, for example.
Proton Pass, however, comes with all the features you’d expect from a good password manager, and as it’s available on all Proton subscription plans, including the free option, it could help you improve your online security. Keep scrolling for my full review.
How I tested
I imported passwords into Proton Pass from Google’s password manager, then used it to create website accounts and store passwords in the Chrome browser on Windows, as well as checking out the Android and Windows apps. During testing, I considered the following criteria...
- Security: I assessed password composition and complexity, as well as encryption levels.
- Compatibility: From different browsers to use across desktops and mobiles, compatibility was another key factor.
- Ease of use: How easy it was to set up and use the app was also taken into account.
Why you can trust IndyBest reviews
IndyBest is The Independent’s expert-driven shopping section. We extensively test every product we feature to bring you unbiased reviews based on real-world testing, and we only recommend products that pass our rigorous tests.
Ian Evenden has been testing all manner of tech and software for years, comparing everything from security features to ease of use. With a background in computing and tech journalism, he’s reviewed everything from the best password managers and bluetooth speakers to antivirus software and more for IndyBest, so he knows what makes a service stand out.
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Proton Pass
Plugins: Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Brave, Safari
Apps: Mobile and desktop
Encryption: AES-256 symmetric-key encryption
Number of passwords: Unlimited
Why we love it
- Quick and easy to use
- Free version available
Take note
- Works best with subscription
Features
In theory, a password manager is a very simple thing. It’s a database that saves your passwords as you create online accounts for things such as email, social media, and your favourite news and shopping sites, then pops up when you want to log in and supplies your password automatically. For security, this database is encrypted and protected by a master password, and can also be unlocked by biometrics, such as Windows Hello or your phone’s fingerprint reader.
Put like that, it sounds straightforward, but there can be a lot more going on behind the scenes. Proton’s password manager can suggest a password for you with varying levels of complexity. As sites become more security conscious, being able to vary your password composition to comply with a site’s requirements is a useful feature.
Otherwise, Proton Pass does its best to be transparent to the user (in the interests of transparency, the software is open-source and subject to independent security audits). There are plugins for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Brave and Safari; mobile apps; and desktop apps for Windows, Mac and a couple of popular flavours of Linux. A web app is available, and even non-subscribers can use it to generate passwords of varying length and complexity.
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Like all Proton products, Proton Pass is available without a subscription, though the free version comes with limitations. For the password manager, this means you’re limited to two ‘vaults’ – the encrypted (AES-256 symmetric-key encryption) digital containers that hold your data, enabling you to organise them or share some and not others. You’re also limited to 10 email aliases for signing up to services without giving your actual address, and the ability to share with two other people. In comparison, the top-tier Proton unlimited subscription (£98.28 a year, Proton.me) gets you 50 vaults, unlimited aliases, and sharing with 10 other people, as well as the Proton Mail, Drive and VPN benefits that come with the subscription.
All versions of Proton Pass (paid-for options start at £29.28 a year) enable you to store an unlimited number of passwords, which are synced across devices through Proton’s cloud system, and there's a Proton Authenticator app for getting two-factor authentication codes, if you want to stay within the Proton ecosystem.
However, there are plenty of free password managers on the market that offer similar features. Google offers one, so if you use Gmail, Chrome or Android you may have already encountered it. There's one in the Firefox and Edge browsers, too. You’ll also find them from Bitwarden, KeePass, NordPass and more. You can import your already saved passwords into Proton Pass from another app by saving them as a file (use the password protection feature, if available) then opening that file in Proton Pass.
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Performance
Signing up to a website using the Proton Pass plugin for Chrome was an easy process. When asked for a username and password, the plugin suggested an email alias based on the name of the website. This is a useful feature, as not only does it prevent a website from knowing your actual email address, any mail sent to the alias (such as verification codes and password reset links) appear in your Proton Mail inbox. With a different alias for every site, if you start receiving spam, a glance at the email address the unwanted messages have been sent to will reveal which site leaked your details.
A password is also suggested at sign up, and there are more options with Proton’s strong passwords than with Google’s. Not only can you specify how many characters it should use, you can add numbers, punctuation and capitals, too. The idea here isn’t to generate passwords that are hard to remember (though it does have that effect), rather it is to reduce the likelihood of a password being brute-forced (where an attacker uses different passwords one after another until one works), as well as reducing the risk of attacks based on knowing your personal information or passwords to other sites.
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Passwords can be random or memorable, with the latter option longer but made up of a collection of words and numbers rather than unrelated characters, the better to retain them between your ears. If using Chrome, it can be best to disable its built-in password manager while using Proton Pass, as it tends to provide its password suggestions before Proton’s, which not only gets in the way but can lead to your password being saved in the wrong place with a slip of the mouse.
Proton Pass is an easy system to use, helped by the fact the apps are nicely laid out. Open the app, whether on mobile or desktop, and you’ll see a list of your saved passwords, which you can edit or delete as you wish. Most of the time, however, you won’t need to use the app at all, as the browser plugin for desktop and autofill capability on mobile will handle logging in to websites. The only time you may have to open the app is to check an email alias, or copy a password to your clipboard if, for some reason, you need to log in manually (be careful when doing this – the password manager won’t trigger on a phishing site asking for your banking password, as the URL will be different, for example).
It’s worth noting, however, that Proton Pass isn’t unique in the world of password managers. It’s certainly extremely competent, but there are a lot of other apps about which the same could be said. It makes sense to use it if you’ve already bought into Proton’s products but isn’t necessarily a reason to switch from Google or Microsoft in the first place. If you are planning to join the Proton ecosystem, though, Proton Pass impresses.
Buy now £29.28, Proton.me
Should you get Proton Pass?
Having a password manager is rapidly becoming an essential part of being on the internet, and Proton Pass is a very good one. It makes the process of generating and remembering unique, strong passwords for different websites and online services quick and simple, while its ability to generate email aliases helps protect your privacy and reduce the amount of spam you receive. It works best as part of a Proton subscription, however, so it’s worth comparing to other options if you’re not keen on signing up.
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