Hot take: Password managers are great but browser saved passwords still have a place

Okay so I used to be team "just let Chrome save everything" for like 5 years (I know, I know). Then about 18 months ago my buddy caught me logging into my bank on his laptop and saw Chrome autofill my password and he freaked out. He set me up with Bitwarden that same night and I was all in for a while. But now I'm wondering if maybe browsers aren't as terrible as everyone says? Like the convenience factor is real and most attacks on saved passwords need physical access to your device anyway. But then again a data breach on your browser sync could expose everything at once. I keep going back and forth on this. Anybody else find themselves using both systems for different accounts? What's your line where you say "okay that one goes in the manager" vs "yeah the browser can handle this"?

2 comments

2 Comments

james5331d ago

My friend Dave had Chrome saved passwords for years until his kid brother got on his phone and ordered $200 worth of stuff off Amazon with one click. He didn't even realize until the packages started showing up. Now he does the same thing you do - random sites get the browser, but anything with a credit card attached goes into Bitwarden. That line about "would losing this account suck?" is exactly how I decide too.

iris_mason881d ago

My coworker had his Chrome saved passwords totally exposed when his account got synced to a library computer once. I keep it simple now - anything financial, work related, or tied to my email goes straight into Bitwarden. Browser saved passwords are fine for like random forum accounts or streaming services where I dont care if someone gets in. The line for me is if losing that account would make my life genuinely harder, it goes in the manager. Been doing it this way for about a year and it feels like a good middle ground.