LastPass Free will be severely limited on March 16, 2021

[harlan4096]

If you are using LastPass Free, the free version of the LastPass password management and synchronization service, then you may need to find another password management solution soon, or pay LastPass owner LogMeIn to continue using the service as you used to in the past.

LastPass announced today that it will make changes to its Free service on March 16, 2021. Starting on that day, LastPass Free users will only be able to use one device type going forward to access their passwords and use synchronization functionality. The company distinguishes between the two device types computers and mobile devices, and starting on that day, Free users may only use one device type but not the other.

The change does not impact LastPass Free users who only use the service on their computers, e.g. a laptop, desktop PC or browser extension, or only on mobile devices, basically anything that runs on Android or iOS. Users who use the service on mobile and desktop systems however, cannot do so anymore going forward unless they buy a premium or families subscription. Premium subscriptions are offered at a discount at the time

LastPass notes that users will set the device type with their first login on March 16, 2021. Customers have three opportunities to switch the active device type according to the blog post before the selection becomes permanent. Users may still access LastPass but only from the selected device types and may still sign in on the non-active device type, but will be severely limited according to a support page. Users will be able to use some functionality, like recovering the account, generating a secure password or managing one-time passwords, and access Account Settings, Advanced Options and Help.

Access to viewing, adding, or managing passwords or other items stored in the Vault are not supported anymore, however.  Access to support is also going to be restricted for free users of the service.

LastPass users will be informed via email notifications on March 1 and on March 16, 2021. and via the client's in-product messaging system.

The blog post does not reveal why the change is made; it looks to be an attempt to get free users to sign-up for a paying subscription.

LastPass Free users who use the service on both device types and don't wan to pay a subscription fee to continue doing so may switch to several alternatives.

There is Bitwarden, an open source password manager that does not restrict the types of devices that you can use, or, my favorite, KeePass.

Now You: are you a LastPass user? Are you affected by the change?
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