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LastPass Free will only work on your computer or mobile come March

Password managers are great pieces of software. One master password allows you to create and securely store complex passwords that you don’t need to remember.

There are so many of these solutions and once you find on you like, it becomes tricky to move.

Which is why the latest announcement from LastPass for free users stings, a lot.

Starting from 16th March 2021, LastPass Free users will be limited to accessing their trove of passwords on either a smartphone or a computer.

“We’re making changes to how Free users access LastPass across device types. LastPass offers access across two device types – computers (including all browsers running on desktops and laptops) or mobile devices (including mobile phones, smart watches, and tablets). Starting 16th March 2021, LastPass Free will only include access on unlimited devices of one type,” writes vice president of product management and identity access management at LogMeIn, Dan DeMichele.

LastPass was acquired by LogMeIn in 2015 if you’re confused about the mention of LogMeIn in a LastPass story.

The VP goes on to explain that when you log into LastPass on or after 16th March, you will have to set your “active device type”. Users will have three chances to change this but after those have been used up, well then you have to either pay for a Premium subscription or stick with the device type you’ve selected. Of course you could just move to another service as well.

But wait! It gets worse for free users.

“In addition to this change, as of 17th May 2021, email support will only be available for Premium and Families customers. LastPass Free users will always have access to our Support Center which has a robust library of self-help resources available 24/7 plus access to our LastPass Community, which is actively monitored by LastPass specialists. Free users will continue to receive email support for technical issues until May 16th to assist through the transition of selecting an active device type,” writes DeMichele.

LastPass Free users can of course avoid this all by paying a monthly subscription to LastPass but that’s not how a subscription to this service works unfortunately.

You will have to pay for a year upfront and while that price is usually $36 per year (~R530) there is currently a sale where you can get access for $27 a year (~R397). There is no localised pricing so you’re at the mercy of the exchange rate here.

One could argue that ~R500 a year is a small price to pay for password security and that person would be right. In fact, many password manager only offer paid subscriptions so LastPass moving in that direction is rather unsurprising.

If you are a LastPass Free user we recommend shopping around for a password manager that suits your needs before parting ways with your money.

While you can use your browser’s built in password manager, we don’t recommend this as it gives anybody with access to your computer or smartphone unfettered access to your information.

[Image – CC 0 Pixabay]

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