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Secrets for Android Secures Passwords and Sensitive Data


Android only: Today Google announced the release of Secrets, a secure password manager for Android where you can store any kind of sensitive data you might need on the go.

Secrets provides enough fields per item to accommodate several types of information, from web site passwords to your ATM PIN to your credit card number, and they're all locked up with a master password. Here are some screenshots of it in action.

After you enter your master password, Secrets takes you to your list of data. Hit the menu key to add or remove items, or see when your Secrets database was accessed.

To add a secret (like my OpenID login), use a form that includes fields for a descriptive title or URL, username, password, email, and a large notes textarea.

To see a secret PIN or password, tap or click an item once and it will appear, as shown.

To edit an entry, tap/click and hold it. Secrets will prove useful for sensitive stuff you need to remember when you're out and about like your ATM PIN, but like KeePassDroid, the one missing essential feature is search. When I copied my KeePass database file to Android for use with KeePassDroid, it was basically useless because I have dozens of entries in it, and no way to search them. If Secrets introduces a fast search (and a KeePass database import, while they're at it)–it would be aces.

Secrets isn't available in the Market yet, so you have to download and install the apk manually to your phone.

Secrets for Android [Google Open Source Blog]
Secrets [Google Code]
Secrets for Android Secures Passwords and Sensitive Data [Smarterware]

Smarterware is Lifehacker editor emeritus Gina Trapani's new home away from 'hacker. To get all of the latest from Smarterware, be sure to subscribe to the Smarterware RSS feed. For more, check out Gina's weekly Smarterware feature here on Lifehacker.