Little Tech: It’s Time to Move to a Third-Party Password Manager (Premium)

Microsoft Authenticator is losing its password management capabilities, but there's no need to be outraged by this change. Instead, view this as an opportunity to make a positive change you should have made years ago and adopt a more capable third-party password manager that isn't tied to a Big Tech platform and the whims of its maker.

I wrote about password management basics in mid-2024, and I recommend (re)reading that now, especially if you're impacted by the changes to Microsoft Authenticator. But here are a few key high-level points:

Password managers don't just manage passwords, so the name undercuts the product's capabilities and, sadly, their importance. They should be called identity managers, and in addition to managing passwords, they also manage passkeys, payment methods, personal information, and more. The best password managers allow you to go completely passwordless.
While each of the key Big Tech platform makers--Apple, Google, and Microsoft--each offer password managers that integrate with their platforms and offer some degree of cross-platform support, third-party password managers are the better option for all kinds of reasons. But key among them is that you're not tied--stuck--with product decisions that are tied in many cases to what's better for that company than for its customers. Yes, this is enshittification, and this is the real reason behind the changes to Microsoft Authenticator. Microsoft is driving users to Microsoft Edge, its web browser, which can also be used for autofill capabilities on desktop and mobile.
The biggest problem moving to a new password manager is not well understood by many: Most people never think to remove the passwords from their previous password managers, and if you're using a Big Tech product for that, the process for doing so is often tedious and time-consuming. Exacerbating the problem, most of us have used multiple apps and services that act has password managers over the years and there are likely multiple copies of your passwords, most incomplete and at least partially out of date, all over the Internet. Think about how many web browsers you've tried over the years. It's important to delete passwords from apps/services you no longer use, at least for that purpose.

I use and recommend Proton Pass for password/identity management, but I have also used and can recommend Bitwarden, Dashlane, and 1Password. Speaking generally, Bitwarden is free and perhaps best for technical users. Dashlane is arguably the best truly passwordless solution. And 1Password is perhaps the simplest, with the cleanest user interface. Proton Pass is, to me, the perfect "Goldilocks" middle ground between these other options, and what I prefer. But you can't really go wrong with any of these choices. In each case, you will want the mobile app version on Android or iPhone (and, on whatever tablet you may use) and the extension in whatever browser you use on desktop.

Most people simply use the...