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LastPass adds a big limitation to the free version of its password manager. As of March 16, free users will only be able to access the service on PCs or cellphones, not both.
Once the change is made, the next time free users sign in to LastPass, the company will check to see if you are accessing your account through a “computer” or a “mobile device”. If it is a PC, access to your account can only be done through browsers running on a desktop or laptop computer. If it is a smartphone, access will be limited to iOS or Android devices, including tablets and smartwatches. (Windows tablets have been classified as computers.)
Free LastPass users will have up to three times to change their device type preference before being locked out.
The impending change is making people look for alternatives to LastPass, which has more than 25 million users. The tool has been a convenient way to securely store passwords across all platforms including websites and mobile apps. Unfortunately, changes to the free version of LastPass may affect the usability of the product.
Credit: LastPass
But LastPass’ parent company, LogMeIn, says it doesn’t block users from accessing their accounts. Free users will still have unlimited access to Password Manager, as long as it occurs on certain types of devices. For example, if you access LastPass through multiple PCs, the change will not affect you at all. But if you ever try to view your account through an iPhone, the service will block your access and ask you to sign in through a PC.
“Please note that all of your devices sync automatically. So you will never lose access to anything stored in your vault or be locked out of your account due to these changes, whether you are using computers or mobile devices to access LastPass, ”the company added in an FAQ about the upcoming restriction.
Still, the change is to try and push free users to LastPass Premium, which costs $ 36 a year and removes the device type restriction.
“This change is part of our increased focus on delivering future premium product enhancements as the security landscape continues to evolve in this new era of remote working,” LogMeIn told us in a statement. “Over the months and years to come, users will continue to see added value and new features added to LastPass Premium.
“This update also brings our free solution in line with other major password managers who have more limitations on their free offerings,” the company added.
In our LastPass review, we ranked it as one of the best password managers out there. However, LogMeIn was acquired last year by private equity firms that specialize in trying to maximize the value of an asset for subsequent sale. So the focus on premium users comes as no surprise. The company’s blog post on the change also implies that LastPass’s growing free user base has become expensive to maintain. If you are looking for a free password manager, you can check out our recommendations.
In the same announcement, LastPass also announced that it is preparing to phase out email customer support for free users on March 16. To resolve their issues, non-paid users will instead need to find the answers through the official LastPass forums or through the Help Center library.
Further reading
Reviews on Password Manager
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