- Last month, Proton announced
their new password manager they're calling
Proton Pass. (graphics blipping)
(soft electronic music)
Proton is well-known for their generous free VPN plan,
so I wanted to see what Proton Pass had to offer.
How does it compare
to Bitwarden (graphics popping)
and other password managers?
I was immediately intrigued
by the fact that Proton Pass is open source.
Well, kind of open source.
Right now, they've released the code for their clients
like their iOS app and Android app,
but they haven't released the code
for the server side functionality.
This means that you can't self-host Proton Pass
on your own server like you could
with other open source options like Bitwarden.
But even the client side (graphics whooshing)
code being open source
is a great display of confidence from Proton,
that they believe in the security of their product.
I also like
that Proton Pass is innovating with standout features
like the ability to generate (graphics clicking)
email aliases for logins. (graphics swishing)
Instead of entering (graphics whooshing)
your primary email address
and a website, and giving that data where it can be sold
or end up on some email list 'til the end of time,
Proton Pass can generate a unique email address
that you only use on that website,
and then that email forwards to your primary email address.
So if the email that Proton generates ever gets
on some list or gets sold, and you're getting spam,
you can just disconnect that email.
Now, Proton Pass has a respectable free plan
with unlimited logins and notes, unlimited syncing
between devices, and use of up to 10 hide my email aliases.
The paid plan for now is $12 a year,
but this is part of some launch promo.
I don't know how long the promo will go for
or what the real pricing will look like
once the promotion is over.
So, take the pricing with a grain of salt.
The paid plan is also included as part of Proton Unlimited.
So if you already subscribe
for Proton VPN and Proton Mail,
you can enjoy Proton Pass at no additional cost.
And speaking of no additional cost,
(graphics whooshing)
you should hit that subscribe button
and click the bell because it's totally free,
and you'll get notified when I make new videos.
When I started testing Proton Pass, I was instantly bothered
by the fact that there's no desktop apps or web vault.
The only way to access your vault is through
the browser extensions or the iOS and Android apps.
Proton says (graphics whooshing)
they are working
on desktop apps for Windows, Mac, and Linux,
and for now, Mac users can download the iPad app
if you have an Apple silicon Mac,
but this is definitely not ideal.
So, I hope to see Proton release these apps soon.
I was also wigged out
by the lack (graphics clicking)
of a master password?
Proton Pass uses the same email
and password as all of your other Proton services,
so the same login you use for Proton VPN and Proton Mail.
In theory, you could choose a strong, memorable password,
and treat it like a master password,
and you absolutely should,
if you're gonna be using Proton Pass.
But something about this just feels funny.
I'm used to a master password being a dedicated,
sacred password that only applies to my vault.
And the fact that I would use the same password
to log into my VPN
and email address, it feels really wrong.
You can enable two factor authentication,
but like some of the other password managers I've tested,
Proton Pass requires you to enable
app-based two factor authentication in order
to pair a security key.
I don't understand this logic.
Since your account is only as strong as your weakest link,
app-based two factor authentication is essentially
the strongest security you're gonna have.
I would prefer to be able to pair a security key,
and make that the only method of two-factor authentication
for my vault.
Now, I was able to import my vault data easily,
but at this point, Proton Pass only imports
logins and notes.
There's also no support from credit card numbers
and auto filling those yet.
And as of now, there's no sharing or team features.
As you can see, there's a lot of features missing
in Proton Pass.
The absolute essentials like data syncing
and auto-filling fields are supported,
and they do support custom fields,
but unfortunately, custom fields can't be auto-filled.
In one password, I'm able to use a custom field to auto-fill
my last name on airline sites that require it upon login.
But the same scenario
in Proton Pass doesn't autofill that field.
Proton Pass says they're working on these features and more,
but who knows how long it's gonna take
to see them get implemented?
The features Proton Pass does have worked well.
Auto-filling worked flawlessly on the Brave Extension
and the iOS app, and I was able to search my vault easily,
and find what I was looking for.
Proton Pass is just a basic password manager,
and until more features are added,
there's not really much to say about it.
I really wish it supported pass keys.
(graphics whooshing)
Proton says they are gonna support it
when they become more relevant,
but since pass keys are so early in going mainstream,
they're not gonna put resources into it now.
I think this is the wrong attitude for a security company.
I really appreciate the mindset of companies
like 1Password who have already implemented support
for pass keys, so that users will adopt it,
and this is (graphics clicking)
ultimately gonna lead to pass keys going mainstream.
By Proton waiting around to implement this feature,
they're essentially waiting on other security companies
to lead the way, and then they'll add it
when they finally decide that they're mainstream enough.
I don't agree with this approach, but Proton
is clearly doing the best they can
with the resources they have.
I appreciate the hide my email alias feature,
as this is not something I've seen
in another password manager.
You can generate a unique email address
when creating a new login, and use that
in place of giving the site your primary email.
The email forwarding is quick,
and it's worked flawlessly in my experience.
My biggest concern with this feature
is that users might feel stuck with Proton Pass
if they ever wanna switch
to another password manager in the future.
This is because if you ever choose to downgrade
to the free plan, you have to disable enough email aliases
until you're using 10 or less.
Otherwise, they're not gonna let you downgrade.
And that means logging into all your accounts
where you've used email aliases,
and changing it back (graphics swishing)
to your primary email.
And that's not exactly an easy process.
I love the concept of the email alias feature,
but I wish it was uncoupled from Proton Pass,
so if you ever wanted to switch
to a different password manager,
you could pay a small yearly fee
to maintain access to those email aliases.
So, is Proton Pass good enough to make the switch?
As a premium password manager,
I just don't think it's there yet with the features.
Unless you really want the email alias feature,
or you're already a Proton Unlimited subscriber,
I would not pay for the premium version.
But as a free password manager,
Proton Pass would be my new recommendation
for an easy, simple to use option.
There are more feature-rich and capable-free options
like Bitwarden, but the UI is confusing,
and I don't think it's easy for the average beginner,
and Proton Pass is much more straightforward.
Proton Pass is simple, and it's going to be great
for anyone who doesn't have complex needs
for a password manager.
If you just want a straightforward app
to keep track of your usernames and passwords,
Proton Pass is for you.
However, there are a lot of neat features missing
that you'll find in other password managers.
So, check out my other video
on the top password managers to see what's missing here.