Password manager resistance

Date: Mar. 1, 2026    Categories: passwords

You use and love your password manager. Or at least you appreciate it. You know it keeps you safer.

But do you understand why many other people say, "No thanks," when urged to use a password manager too?

Your attempt to convince your partner

Maybe you have asked your partner to switch to using Bitwarden. You are concerned about their risky password practices. You could be seriously affected if something goes wrong.

So you try to convince your partner with these arguments:

• "It is so much safer!"

• "You'll save so much time."

• "All the experts say to use a password manager."

• "Look how easy it is to login anywhere!"

Unfortunately, you are not addressing their actual concerns, the reasons they aren't using a password manager.

Most likely, you are more techie than the person you are trying to convince. You love techie time-savers and things that work automatically. Or you are rightfully concerned about cybersecurity. Sure, you may be frustrated getting used to new techie tools, but you forge ahead. You figure them out.

The other person's perspective

The other person may see technology differently. They just want it to do what they want it to do. They would really like to avoid having to learn yet another technology. So many things could go wrong! If what they are already doing works for them, they'd really rather not change.

The non-techie person may face any number of worries:

• "I'll learn the steps but then I'll forget some and be stuck."

• "I'll look stupid if I get stuck and get stuck again."

• "I'll really need to login to something and then the password manager will lock me out."

• "I'll make a mistake and lose all my passwords. That doesn't happen with my little paper password book."

They may be reluctant to say any of those objections out loud. And they may minimize the actual risks of their current way of saving passwords.

They may say to themself:

• "My passwords are good enough. No one will guess them."

• "No one cares enough about my stuff to try to break in. I'm not that famous."

• "If the place burns down, we'll have bigger problems to worry about than my paper password sheet."

When you push for them to use a password manager, you probably don't address their actual concerns.

Password manager persuasion

You may offer to show them how fast and easy it is to use a password manager. From their perspective, saving a little time logging in is not worth all their imagined difficulties. They're concerned about having to understand yet another techie tool and about failing and looking stupid.

What can you do to help a non-techie switch to using a password manager?

That is a really difficult question, especially if you are in a personal relationship. My best advice is to show that you really want to understand where they are coming from and how they feel about technologies in general. You could commiserate about the techie hassles we all experience in various ways. You might explain that you care about them and want to spare them from some really bad experiences.

Raise the possibility that, if they are up for it, you'll set up a password manager for them and make it really easy to use. They will have a cheat sheet with illustrations showing them everything they'll ever need to do. You'll be understanding and helpful If they run into any snags.

Will it work?

Will that work? Maybe. Maybe not. If it does, you may be surprised at how appreciative they are once they get over the mental block about having to deal with a new techie thing.

If you have any tips on what has worked for you, please let me know!

Wells H. Anderson, 952.922.1120, [email protected]