Everyone shares their passwords. Whether it’s at work or at home, it’s normal to share access to online accounts. But are these methods of password sharing safe? And once you’ve shared a password, where should it be kept?
In this article, we’ll explain the risks of password sharing, explore the role that a password manager can play in this process, and teach you how to securely share passwords on any device.
The risks of password sharing
Password sharing is a popular topic right now because of the crackdowns from streaming(new window) giants such as Disney(new window) and Netflix(new window). People often share their streaming service logins to share a family account or save money by sharing a single account. These companies aren’t cracking down on password sharing because they’re concerned about your cybersecurity — they’re trying to minimize lost revenue. But they’re also inadvertently touching on a growing cybersecurity risk. Sharing passwords and not using two-factor authentication (2FA) increases the risk that you’ll be affected by a data breach.
According to the Identity Theft Resource Center(new window), the most reported type of identity fraud in 2023 was existing account takeover: 52% of reported cases of identity crime(new window) were the result of an attacker maliciously gaining access to a person’s account and taking it over (and removing the original owner’s access in the process). Attackers rely on stealing or breached credentials, malware, or phishing to break into accounts.
Sharing passwords can increase the chances you’ll suffer an account takeover, particularly if you’re sharing weak passwords. Weak passwords are short, memorable, and common, like your pet’s name or your birthday. We’ve written about the importance of creating strong passwords many times because it’s one of your best defenses against being affected by a data breach.
When you share a password with another person, you increase the number of locations it could be exposed to an attacker. Your device might be secure, but there’s no guarantee that your password recipient’s device is. They might not use a password manager or leave your username and password in their messages. Attackers can access your information more easily if it’s not stored in secure locations.
Every time you share a password, especially a weak password, you create vulnerabilities. Let’s examine some of the most common use cases for password sharing.
Password sharing at work
Some common use cases for password sharing at home include:
- Streaming services
- Subscription services and online retail
- Banking services
- Government services (like social security or taxes)
Secure password sharing within a family is essential. Families share accounts and services, and multiple people often need to access a single account. Some of the information that family members need to access, such as banking and government services, is sensitive. If these accounts are affected by a data breach, this can create havoc(new window).
Take a moment and think about how tech-savvy your family members are. If they’re not comfortable navigating the internet securely, they could introduce risk to your accounts if they have any of your login information. A password is only as secure as the place(s) it’s stored.
Password sharing on your mobile device
If you have an iPhone or iPad, you can use iCloud Keychain to create a shared password group to share passwords and passkeys with friends and family. However, this isn’t convenient if you need to quickly share a single login with someone who’s not using iCloud Keychain. It’s also not convenient for work purposes. You can AirDrop passwords, but this requires physical proximity and a recipient who’s also using an iOS device.
Android uses Google Password Manager by default. Sharing a password in Google Password Manager requires you to create a family group and for all users to have a Google account. Google recently apologized for erasing the logins and passwords of 15 million Chrome users(new window), creating concerns about Google’s infrastructure.
On Android, you can also use the Nearby Share feature to share credentials, but you need to be physically near the person. For work purposes, this isn’t ideal.
Sharing passwords on the go should be easy, secure, and shouldn’t compromise your account security. It should also be easy to share passwords cross-platform without needing to be close to the device you’re sharing with.
The role of a password manager in safe password sharing
As we’ve established, password managers play a large part in how sensitive login information is shared across devices. Ideally, everyone should use a password manager — however, people who don’t have a lot of confidence in their tech skills might be intimidated by the prospect of choosing, downloading, and managing a third-party app.
A personal or family password manager allows you to create a vault where you can store the usernames and passwords for your family accounts. It should be end-to-end encrypted so that no one outside your family can access it, not even the business operating the software. For maximum security, it should also be available cross-platform for your iOS and Android devices.
A business password manager performs a different duty than a personal password manager. It should offer the same robust security as a personal password manager, but provide additional functionality. Chosen admins must be able to oversee the security of the business accounts, enforcing secure password practices and 2FA for all users. A business password manager also helps companies comply with data security rules such as HIPAA.
Share passwords securely with Proton Pass
Proton Pass can be configured for family or work use and can help you share passwords safely between your devices.
Using secure links, you can send a password in seconds to another device. Links can be configured to expire after a certain length of time and be viewed by a certain number of people, and you can send a link even if your intended recipient doesn’t use Proton Pass. Users can stay secure with integrated 2FA even if they’re new to multi-factor authentication.
It’s also easy to set up and share an entire vault. A vault will store an unlimited amount of logins and notes for easy access. Families and workplaces can create and share their vaults securely from any device in any location.
Proton Pass for Business is an easy-to-use tool for workers to protect themselves online. It offers the same security and features as Proton Pass, with extra business functionality. Admins can easily configure security-first policies and enforce 2FA to protect your business. It’s easy to track activity logs, creating an overview of events on individual users’ devices.
Admins can also disable sharing outside your organization and prevent data from being exported for data breach prevention. Add, manage, and remove users easily. It’s easy to generate secure passwords and save them in a shared vault, no matter your level of experience using a password manager. Proton Pass makes enterprise-grade security accessible to everyone. Find out which plan will best suit your needs and start sharing your passwords securely.
