10 Life Hacks Every Proton Pass User Should Know
Proton Pass is a password manager app from the privacy-focused company Proton (whose suite of tools also includes Proton Mail and Proton VPN ). Whether you’re already a Proton user or looking for a new password manager to securely store your login credentials and other information, these tips and tricks will help you get the most out of Proton Pass.
Create a separate vault for shared access in Proton Pass for guests.
Password managers offer a secure alternative to writing down Wi-Fi passwords and other credentials or sending them via SMS. With Proton Pass, you can create a separate vault specifically for your home and share a limited list of credentials—such as guest Wi-Fi, smart lock codes, and streaming information—with visitors. Vaults can be set to view-only, and you can revoke access at any time. Users without a Proton Pass account receive a shareable link that can expire after a set amount of time or views.
Build a storage area for your Emergency Kit in Proton Pass to share with trusted individuals.
Another use case for individual vaults is the ability to select “emergency” items to share with trusted contacts. For paid users, Proton Pass offers a special emergency access feature that allows up to five contacts of your choosing to access your account after a set waiting period in the event of your illness or death. Alternatively, you can create a vault containing only specific items, such as logins or secure notes, and share it with those who might need this information if you are incapacitated or unavailable. Please note that guest access can be revoked or cancelled at any time.
Use custom hidden fields to protect answers to security questions and PINs.
When creating an item in Proton Pass, you have the option to add custom fields that allow you to store additional information related to your credentials, such as text notes and two-factor authentication codes. You can also select a hidden field, which by default hides the text until you reveal it (similar to how passwords are masked). This prevents prying eyes from viewing sensitive information, such as answers to security questions and PINs. Custom fields are available in Proton’s paid plans.
Create temporary accounts for online shopping by combining email aliases and virtual cards.
One of the main advantages of Proton Pass is its email alias feature, which generates a unique email address when you register a new account. Email aliases forward messages to your main inbox but eliminate the need to share your real address, essentially creating temporary accounts you can use for online shopping, newsletters, marketing lists, and other activities you don’t want associated with your personal email. Free users receive 10 email aliases, while paid plan users receive an unlimited number. While Proton Pass doesn’t yet have a built-in virtual card feature like 1Password , you can use services like Privacy.com or Revolut to create disposable or merchant-specific payment cards that protect your real account information.
Add custom descriptions to hide-my-email aliases to track who is selling your data.
Another benefit of using aliases to hide your email address is that you can find out who’s selling your data (again, without revealing your personal email address). When creating an alias, add a text field with notes about what exactly this address is used for. If you start receiving promotional emails or spam at this alias, you’ll know where the leak originated. You can then instantly disable the alias in Proton Pass.
To avoid duplicate accounts in Proton Pass, add multiple login URLs to one master account.
Some employers, universities, and service providers use multiple URLs to access online portals, but the same credentials are used for all of them. Instead of cluttering your storage with duplicate entries, you can add multiple URLs to an item, and Proton Pass will automatically populate that item across all your accounts. This will also prevent the hassle of having to update your password and then remember to sync it across duplicate items. When editing an entry, simply click “Add” in the “Website” field.
Recover old credentials using item history in Proton Pass.
Proton Pass maintains a history of your saved items, allowing you to view previous passwords and modified information. This makes it easy to revert to earlier versions if you make a mistake updating your credentials. Paid plans provide access to the last 50 versions of an item, and you can restore earlier versions to the current version directly from the item history.
Switch to passphrase password generation for security and ease of entering login credentials.
When creating new credentials, Proton Pass can generate a random, strong password that meets the site’s requirements. Alternatively, you can use passphrases, which are sequences of words separated by hyphens (or other symbols). These are still very secure, but are much easier to remember and enter than a random sequence of letters, numbers, and symbols. Passphrases can be useful for accounts that require manual entry of credentials.
Enable the Additional Password feature to provide an extra layer of security for your Proton Pass vault.
When you sign up for Proton Pass, you start by creating a global Proton account that will work across all Proton apps. Naturally, this password should be as strong as possible, and multi-factor authentication should be enabled, but you can also set a password specifically for your Proton Pass vaults to ensure your credentials remain secure even if your account is compromised. This option is located under Settings > Security > Additional Password in the browser extension and under Profile > Account Name > Account Management in the mobile app. Please note that if you forget or lose this password, you will not be able to access your Pass account.
Use notes and attachments to create an encrypted document vault in Proton Pass.
Some of the best password managers can also be used as encrypted vaults, allowing you to upload sensitive documents you don’t want to trust to other cloud services that are more vulnerable to hacking. Proton Pass includes 1GB of storage with the free plan and 10GB for paid users. You can create secure notes and attach uploaded files to any item in your vault.