3 Big Reasons You Need a Password Manager

We could give you 10 reasons why you need a password manager, but let’s make this quick, as we all have better things to do than think about passwords. Here are our top three reasons you need to start using a password manager—today.

1. Your Brain Isn't Built for Passwords

Your brain is not good at managing passwords. Don't take it personally. It's because you're human. Every online account needs a unique, strong password. And no, this doesn't mean adding a 1 or ! to whatever password you're currently using. Unique means a totally different password on every online account. Strong means it's pretty impossible to remember.

Today, the average person has between 2 and 10 active online accounts, while others have dozens more. Whatever your number, it's a sure bet you'll have more in the future. And all your accounts, active or not, need to be protected by a strong password looks something like this Hgt-12B&-d7HB-ND* (it makes us cringe, even thinking about typing that in more than once). You can quickly see why trying to memorize or even type in these passwords is just not going to happen. That’s exactly why people without a password manager are more likely to share passwords across accounts and fall back to using less secure passwords that probably look something like this Bob5817. Don’t be Bob.

A password manager handles all of this for you. It securely generates strong passwords, saves them, and enters them when needed—super simple, fast and secure. You probably have more fun things to remember, anyway.

2. It’s An Essentials Digital Security Tool

Any reputable digital security expert will tell you to get a password manager. Tell them you don’t have one, or you’re using a system you learned on YouTube to manage your passwords and get ready for that look. It's time to offload the critical job of securing your digital life with a dedicated password manager app. The great news is there are some excellent free password managers out there, so money doesn’t have to be an issue.

Using one is like locking your doors when you leave home. Not using one is like leaving your front door wide open. Do that, and it would be no big surprise if you were burgled. Yet when we share easy-to-guess passwords across our accounts or use less secure passwords, we seem totally shocked when our accounts are hacked. You’re living a digital life that deserves the best protection you can find.

3. Makes it Painless to Manage Online Accounts

If I told you that security experts suggest we change our passwords often—we’re talking monthly, weekly, and better yet, every time you log in—what reaction would I get? If you’re not using a password manager, your answer would probably be some version of “You must be ** joking.” or “Yah, that’s not going to happen.”

Here’s the rub. To properly secure your online accounts, you need a password plan that makes it quick and easy to change your passwords regularly. Doing this at least a few times a year is recommended (when the clocks change or at the winter and summer solstice are easy-to-remember dates). That password plan also needs to make it easy to change any password immediately if your email address or other personal information has been part of a data breach. At the rate those are happening, we might all be changing our passwords daily very soon.

You owe it to yourself to make locking down your digital life as frictionless as possible. Otherwise, being the fine human you are, you’ll eventually fall into the trap of using less secure passwords or pulling an ostrich (hiding from reality)—both bad plans.

With a password manager, you only have to remember one password—your master password— and most times, you don’t even need that, as your face or fingerprint will work if your device has that option, so no typing is required. This means that every one of your online accounts is well protected with a unique, strong password you never even have to write down, much less remember. And makes it dead simple to quickly change any password in a few taps.

Bonus Reasons Why a Password Manager Is The Way To Go

In case you're still not convinced, here are a few other features of password manager apps that we love:

1. Dark web scans and notifications tell you if your personal information is being seen by cybercriminals and help you quickly change passwords when needed.

2. You can temporarily let someone you trust into your accounts.

3. Autofills your credit card details (minus the security code) with your name and address, making for fast and secure online shopping.

4. If your personal information is ever found in a data breach, only a single account is compromised rather than all accounts that share the same password.

Ready to Get Started? We’ve Got You Covered With Free Resources.

Here are some free Gluu resources to make securing your digital life easy peasy:

• Check out our password manager app review for 2025 that cover the apps that get the highest ratings from security experts. We tested six password manager apps again this year, and four made it to our Favourite Password Manager Apps List, some for a few years in a row now.

• Get started with the free Apple’s Passwords app that came built into the iOS 18 update with our detailed lessons. They walk through the entire app for your iPhone. iPad lessons are coming in early 2025.

• Consider going through our Unscammable digital security series that helps you protect your digital life and stay a step ahead of cybercriminals. Here's a link to the entire Unscammable for iPhone series. iPad and Samsung resources coming in early 2025.

Until next time.

Linda