How to export your passwords from LastPass (and import them elsewhere)

LastPass has a free level, and this has helped make it one of the most popular password managers. But this free level now has major limitations.

As of March 16, LastPass free plan users will no longer be able to use the password manager on their phone. and portable. They will have to choose a type of device.

The free LastPass plan now offers two options:

• Office only: If you choose the desktop option, you can only access your data from any Mac, Windows, or Linux PC, including desktops or laptops.
• Mobile only: If you choose a mobile, you can only access your data from an iPhone, iPad or Android phone / device (like a Samsung Galaxy phone).

What you won’t be able to do is use LastPass for free on your computer and phone. It won’t work for a lot of people, which means it’s time to upgrade to a paid plan ($ 36 per year for a single user, $ 48 per year for families) or move your data elsewhere.

There are several other password services that we think are better than LastPass, and one of them is free as well. If you’d like to change, take a look at our updated Guide to the Best Password Managers. Once you’ve decided where you want to use your passwords, you’ll need to export your data out of LastPass and import it into the new service.

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How to export your LastPass data

LastPass has two export options: a CSV file or an encrypted file. If you upgrade to any of the services in our guide, CSV is the option to use.

It’s important to note that CSV is a plain text file, which means that this file we’re about to export will have all of your password data unencrypted, in plain text. Be very careful with this export file. I suggest doing the export on your desktop or laptop computer, using the browser extension, but only on a trusted network. After you import this data into the new password manager, be sure to delete the plain text file.

The easiest way to recover your data is the LastPass web browser extension, which you can get from the LastPass site. Once the browser extension is installed, click the button on your browser toolbar to open the LastPass menu. Click on Account options, so Advanced, so Export. You should then see an option titled “LastPass CSV File”. Click on this link and your web browser will save the resulting file to your hard drive.

If you are using a phone or tablet (or have already chosen the Mobile plan), you will need to use lastpass.com. You must beware. Many browsers will not automatically download the generated file. To use the site, log into your account and expand the sidebar menu on the left and click the button Advanced options menu item. Then click on the Export option, enter your master password and click Submit. This will then open a CSV file in your browser. Some browsers will automatically download this file. If not, select all and copy it. Then open Notepad (Windows) or TextEdit (MacOS) and paste the CSV data. To select File> Save As in Notepad or TextEdit and enter a name with the .csv extension at the end. Make sure to save it as plain text (not rich text).