Dashlane Review – Password Manager and Digital Wallet with Backup and Sync Capabilities

very good
key review info
application features
  • Auto-logins everywhere
  • (3 more, see all...)

Given the multitude of online services one uses on a regular basis and the increasing need to protect accounts against security breaches, electronic wallets have become an actual necessity. Dashlane proposes a well-structured environment for managing passwords, secure notes, and payment details, and is able to sync the info to all your devices, in encrypted form.

On the whole, Dashlane proves to be a versatile and multi-layered service: you start by creating a database on your local computer, and the app uses your master password to encrypt it. Dashlane can import passwords from your web browsers or from other digital wallets: this way, you will not have to waste time manually adding the info.

A Premium account subscription grants you access to the Dashlane servers that can be used for backup or for device synchronization: the utility has companion apps for both iOS and Android devices.

Premium account users can also choose to share certain credentials with other members of their team. In addition, Dashlane integrates an emergency contact feature that can be used to share essential information with family members or significant others: note that you must send invitations, and confirm the requests to actually grant access.

Effortlessly login to any of your accounts and access additional info from the web browser

As far as usability is concerned, the Dashlane browser extensions enable you to sign in to your accounts in no time and grant access to most of the information stored in Dashlane app's database.

To streamline your online activity, Dashlane tries to automate repetitive tasks: you get to set up multiple identities and use them to complete forms with just a few mouse clicks, you can store payment details that can be summoned on checkout pages, and you get to effortlessly generate new, random, and secure passwords.

Synchronize the database with all your devices or back up the data only locally

All these functions work together in order to provide a relaxed and user-friendly experience, while making sure your information remains safe. Even though you need the cloud to use the synchronization services, the data is stored in encrypted form and decrypted locally when you need it. You can learn more about the security measures used by Dashlane on the developer’s website.

However, you can also choose to store the data only locally, and manually create both secured and unsecured backups. If you employ the Dashlane secure archive format, you can easily transfer the data to other devices or computers without going through the Dashlane servers, by using the import function.

Change multiple passwords at the same time with a simple mouse click

Currently in beta stage, the Dashlane Password Changer feature can help you to quickly change passwords for more than 50 services: the app generates random passkeys and automatically replaces the old ones. If necessary, you will be prompted for answers to security questions or phone-delivered security codes, but the time it would take to do it manually is greatly reduced.

In terms of resources usage, on a 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac with 6GB of RAM the Dashlane app used up to 15% CPU power and around 100MB RAM, while the Dashlane agent could spike to up to 10% CPU power and 50MB RAM, depending on the number of tasks performed at the same time. To this, it will add the resources needed by each Dashlane browser extension: the app includes add-ons for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari, but their installation is optional.

As you can see, Dashlane is a rather comprehensive digital wallet solution: not only can you manage accounts, payment details, notes, receipts, or personal information, and store them in encrypted form, but you also have the tools necessary to access the info in no time, from a device of your choice.

Noteworthy is that Dashlane wants to make the whole process an essentially user-friendly and streamlined experience. Testament to that are the Getting Started tutorials that get you through the major functions and the Security Dashboard that analyses the security level of each password and indicates the ones that should be changed.

Some basic security elements still need polishing

One of Dashlane’s drawbacks is the automatic logout time period: the shortest interval is 15 minutes, which means that you must either remember to log out manually or ensure none of your Dashlane-enabled devices go unsupervised. What’s more, the automatic logout is disabled by default, so make sure to visit the Preferences and make all the necessary adjustments.

On the other hand, quitting the application will not trigger the log out, which seems to be quite elementary when dealing with such important data. Considering Dashlane takes security quite seriously (it even integrates two-factor authentication tools), this seems to be an oversight that should be fixed soon.


The Good

Dashlane comes with a beautiful, well-organized user interface that will help you keep track of accounts, receipts, payment methods, different identities, and so on. All this data is stored in a secure manner and you have the option to use the Dashlane servers to sync it to all your devices, or you can create manual backups and transfer the archives any way you like.

On top of that, Dashlane integrates a streamlined workflow for accessing the info in your default browser, without too much trouble, which makes it very easy to use even by inexperienced users.

Lastly, the newest Dashlane function is designed to let you change the passwords for multiple accounts at the same time, with minimal user interaction: this is extremely useful when you want to counteract possible security breaches.

The Bad

Even though Dashlane can be used only locally, you still have to create an account to be able to access the app’s interface. Moreover, the sync function is activated by default, which means that if you choose to import the passwords stored in your web browser to Dashlane via the Setup Assistant, the info will be automatically synced to the server.

In addition, the Dashlane app interface remains accessible for at least 15 minutes to anyone that has access to your computer if you forget to log out manually, which means that you must be extra careful about who uses your Mac.

The Truth

Dashlane proposes simple, efficient, and easily accessible solutions for handling sensitive data in a secure manner. The app has what it takes to help you generate safe passwords for all your accounts, enables you to change them in no time, and makes the logging in on different websites as simple as possible, without any security compromises.

The Dashlane service also packs synchronization capabilities, integrates team sharing options, and offers you the possibility to grant emergency access to certain contacts. To conclude, Dashlane bundles a collection of both simple and innovative tools that you can use to get around the web in a relaxed manner, while preserving an above average security level.

user interface 5
features 4
ease of use 4
pricing / value 4


final rating 4
Editor's review
very good
 
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Photo Gallery (23 Images)

In the Dashlane main window you can browse and manage your passwords database.
For each password entry, Dashlane allows you to store your own notes.Dashlane helps you sort the passwords list by different criteria.The Dashlane Password Changer can help you change multiple passwords in no time with a simple mouse click.Dashlane analyzes the security level of your passwords and highlights the ones that need to be changed.
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