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One of the things that made switching to a password manager difficult was the lack of a smooth and secure automation workflow. Do you think a standard/protocol

One of the things that made switching to a password manager difficult was the lack of a smooth and secure automation workflow. Do you think a standard/protocol for communication between platforms and password managers would help solve this problem? Basically your password manager could hook into events from Android/Chrome/iOS like "login requested", "new account created" and "password updated" allowing increased automation from password mangers. Obviously using lots of signing/certificates/encryption/platform verification(to become a registered password manager for chrome/iOS/android would require a much more extensive check than a standard plugin/app) to ensure security?

simcop2387 7y ago
keepass2android added this some time ago and it has certainly helped wonders for me there with the automation of passwords in apps on my phone and tablet. That said it's only there on android. I'd love similar kinds of integrations/apis available on other platforms too.
- Phlarp 7y ago
  Password managers seem like somewhat wasted effort when you pass all the plaintext around on Android. Feels like a security minefield; only a matter of time until a vulnerability or outright malicious app starts reading them. Obviously if you can't use the password manager on mobile it's functionally worthless.
  - UncleMeat 7y ago
    That is getting better with better clipboard APIs.
  - simcop2387 7y ago
    That's one of the reasons that android added the autofill system, so you no longer have to pass them around in plain text on the clipboard. https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/text/autofill-services https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/text/autofill-ser...
Reelin 7y ago
> Do you think a standard/protocol for communication between platforms and password managers would help solve this problem? Does the Freedesktop Secrets API Specification resemble at all the type of thing that you're envisioning? https://standards.freedesktop.org/secret-service/ch01.html https://standards.freedesktop.org/secret-service/ch01.html
saagarjha 7y ago
Don't iOS and Android have some sort of support for at least the first event? I seem to recall them allowing third-party password managers to present their passwords when requested.
- thirdsun 7y ago
  At least in iOS you can set one or multiple Password Managers which will provide login info whenever required. It works well.

simcop2387 7y ago

keepass2android added this some time ago and it has certainly helped wonders for me there with the automation of passwords in apps on my phone and tablet. That said it's only there on android. I'd love similar kinds of integrations/apis available on other platforms too.

Phlarp 7y ago
Password managers seem like somewhat wasted effort when you pass all the plaintext around on Android. Feels like a security minefield; only a matter of time until a vulnerability or outright malicious app starts reading them. Obviously if you can't use the password manager on mobile it's functionally worthless.
- UncleMeat 7y ago
  That is getting better with better clipboard APIs.
- simcop2387 7y ago
  That's one of the reasons that android added the autofill system, so you no longer have to pass them around in plain text on the clipboard. https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/text/autofill-services https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/text/autofill-ser...

Reelin 7y ago

> Do you think a standard/protocol for communication between platforms and password managers would help solve this problem? Does the Freedesktop Secrets API Specification resemble at all the type of thing that you're envisioning? https://standards.freedesktop.org/secret-service/ch01.html https://standards.freedesktop.org/secret-service/ch01.html

saagarjha 7y ago

Don't iOS and Android have some sort of support for at least the first event? I seem to recall them allowing third-party password managers to present their passwords when requested.

thirdsun 7y ago
At least in iOS you can set one or multiple Password Managers which will provide login info whenever required. It works well.