Arguably, the best free best freemium password management service just got a whole lot better. Lastpass announced today that you no longer have to pay a subscription fee to utilize the service on multiple devices. Previously it was a $12 per year premium subscription fee to access the service from two different types of devices, like the iPhone app and the Chrome extension, etc. It is still important to note that the premium subscription service is not going away though. Premium users will still get some added benefits though, including priority customer support, group password sharing, and extra two-factor authentication options.
The pricing change is clearly in response to increasing competition from other password management services. The LogMeIn CEO Bill Wagner said on an earnings call last week that free users drive revenue for LastPass because they often convert to Premium services or serve as referrals for enterprise business opportunities.
“Too many of us are still struggling to build a strong security foundation, at work and at home”, says the Founder, VP and GM of the password management resource in a detailed blog post reminding us of the over 1 billion passwords “publicly leaked due to poor password practices” so far in 2016.”
Security risks and concerns have taken center stage in the last few years, so having a password manager is convenient for a lot of users who have difficulty keeping track of passwords. Lastpass knows it is the most used and well known of these services currently, and with this move it looks like they are aiming to stay that way.
