An average user of the web probably hoards 10s of accounts and logins for services they use or have used. Think of the social media accounts, banking portals, work services, government applications and entertainment services that we use these days — we’re stuck authenticating ourselves against a huge variety of websites with bits of text that we’re supposed to keep secret.
This is were the divide occurs — between users that create different passwords for every account they have, and users that recycle and reuse the same password across many or all of their accounts. This divide isn’t clear cut of course, and an individual may fall anywhere in within this spectrum.
Why the separation? Logins are hard, boring, and in the way of what we want. It’s not so much that users aren’t interested in keeping their information or identities, but doing so is more of a hurdle for them then it’s worth. The alternative to them using the same password over and over again ad infinitum is somehow collecting different passwords for all of their logins.
The issue with having different logins is not particularly with software/service adoption, but with ease of access. When you need something in a hurry and can use your personal machine, maybe Chrome steps in and fills the password for you. This password might be 32 characters in length and be made up of symbols that you can’t even find on your keyboard — but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that the login procedure was simple and fast. It didn’t require looking away from the screen or opening an application or notebook.
A password manager has this wall to climb before reaching the masses: It has to be so easy to use that you barely notice it. It has to be install-able on all of a user’s devices. It has to proactively provide login details when a user wants to log in to an account of their choice. Only then can their passwords be lengthy and unique enough to thwart account theft.
It seems to be imperative that the process of selling password management as an idea to people includes, almost primarily, the idea that it makes life easier.
