How to get and use a password manager: Google Password Manager or Proton Pass

A password manager remembers a different, strong password for every website, on your computer and your phone. You only remember one.

Why a password manager is safer

When one website is hacked, the same password elsewhere is not exposed: every website has its own.
It makes long, random passwords you do not need to type or remember.
It offers your password on the website where you saved it. If it offers nothing on a login page you reached from a link, be careful: the page may be fake.
It warns you about passwords that are weak, reused or found in a data leak.

Which one?

Google Password Manager: free and already built into Chrome and Android. The simplest choice if you use Chrome and a Google Account.
Proton Pass: from the Swiss company Proton, with a free plan. A good choice if you prefer to keep your passwords with a company separate from your browser.

Option A: Google Password Manager

Computer: in Chrome, click More (⋮) › Passwords and autofill › Google Password Manager.
Under Settings, switch on Offer to save passwords and passkeys.
Open Checkup to see weak, reused or leaked passwords and change them.
Android: Chrome › More › Settings › Google › Password Manager. There is also a Google Password Manager app on Google Play.
iPhone: Settings › General › Autofill & Passwords, switch on Autofill Passwords & Passkeys and, under "Autofill from", switch on Google Chrome.
From any browser you can also open passwords.google.com.

Option B: Proton Pass

The free plan includes unlimited logins, notes and cards, unlimited devices, 2 vaults and 10 hide-my-email aliases. Built-in 6-digit codes are mainly a paid feature, so keep using an authenticator app for those.

Create a free Proton account at account.proton.me/start. You can use your current email address.
Download and keep the Recovery Kit. Proton cannot reset your password for you; the kit is how you get back in.
Install Proton Pass from proton.me/pass/download: the Chrome extension on your computer and the app on your phone.
Moving from Chrome? In Chrome, open Google Password Manager › Settings › Export passwords › Download file. In the Proton Pass extension, open ☰ › Settings › Import, choose "Chrome" as the provider, add the file and click Import.
Then delete the exported file and empty the bin: it contains all your passwords in plain text.

Good habits

Protect the password manager itself with a long passphrase you use nowhere else, and switch on two-step verification for that account.
Let the manager make new passwords for you when you sign up somewhere.
Do not keep passwords in a notebook file, an email to yourself or a photo.

Lost or stolen device?

If you are a client of ours and your phone or computer has crashed, or was lost or stolen, let us know as soon as possible. Write to us using the contact details on our contact page, or use the direct email address or telephone number we gave you (we do not publish these). We can lock your account with us straight away, reset your login password, and help you set everything up again.

Sources (checked 20 October 2026)

Google Password Manager (computer, Android). support.google.com
Google Password Manager on iPhone. support.google.com
Proton Pass plans. proton.me
Proton: create an account with your current email. proton.me
Proton Pass: import from Chrome. proton.me