keeper Security Review 2020
- Intuitive, easy-to-use interface
- "BreachWatch," a dark web monitoring feature
- "Keeper Chat," a secure communication feature
- Limited autofill capabilities
- Not as feature-rich as some of its competitors
Keeper proves a sleek interface doesn’t have to come at the cost of exceptional security. This password manager has a lot more under the hood than what it appears at first glance.
About Keeper
Keeper is a product of Keeper Security, a Chicago-based company with offices in California and Cork, Ireland. Founded in 2009, Keeper serves millions of people and thousands of businesses around the world, among them are Google, Samsung, Amazon, and other industry leaders. In the last few years, Keeper has gained recognition through a series of awards and acknowledgments. In 2018, for example, it was named the Best Password Manager and Editor’s Choice by PC Magazine. In 2019 it was, again, named PC Magazine’s Editor’s Choice and was also awarded the Publisher’s Choice Cybersecurity Password Management InfoSec Award. When it comes to security, the company prides itself upon its zero-knowledge policy, meaning that no one, including Keeper, has access to users’ passwords. Note that, as a by-product, this also means that Keeper cannot unlock your account should you forget your master password. Keeper uses AES-256 military-grade encryption, which is considered to be one of the most secure ciphers. On top of that, it offers multi-factor authentication for added security. The company also complies with Service Organization Controls (SOC) 2, a compliance standard meant to assess whether a company that stores customer information in the cloud meets trust service criteria: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. This is a make-or-break for some companies that handle sensitive data, for example, government agencies.
Usability
Keeper’s setup process is quick and easy. The walk-through process meant to guide you through Keeper’s highlights is so friendly it’s almost enjoyable. Keeper helps users install browser extensions and—something we particularly appreciated—import their passwords. In fact, importing passwords seems to be one of Keeper’s strengths: the process is easy and supports imports from every possible browser and password manager. Nevertheless, you can naturally skip the import process and allow Keeper to capture your passwords upon logging into a website. Alternatively, you can enter the login credentials manually.
As previously mentioned, and despite the apps rich security offering and business focus, Keeper’s relatively new interface is as simple and user-friendly as it only gets. There’s even a color and gradient “theme” users can choose from, which is a nice touch. The default menu is lean and contains only five sections: My Vault, Identity & Payments, Security Audit, BreachWatch, and Deleted Items. My Vault shows login credentials and offers to sort them by record types, Identity and payments shows personal info and payment cards, the security audit reviews how strong your passwords and how many of them have been reused by you. Our favorite section is “BreachWatch,” a dark web scan that notifies you if any of your passwords have been compromised. Finally, “Deleted Items” allows you to restore previously-deleted items. The rest of the functionality in the Keeper desktop is located at the top of the window, under the dropdown menu. You can also choose any of Keeper’s add-ons by clicking on the “Secure Add Ons” button: BreachWatch, Keeper Chat, Secure File Storage, Keeper Family Plan, and the Business Plan.
Pricing
Keeper is competitively priced, especially when compared with other password managers with a similar offering. You can select between a few subscription plans and bundles, depending on your security needs, required storage, and the number of users using the same account. A free account is available, yet we wouldn’t recommend it since it’s doesn’t offer password syncs across devices, probably the most important aspect of a password manager. A personal subscription, Keeper Unlimited, costs $29.99 a year, whereas the Family Plan costs $59.99 a year. Note that students are eligible for a 50% discount. Other users are eligible for a discount when purchasing a bundle, which includes Keeper Unlimited or Keeper Family, secure file storage (between 10GB to a whopping 1TB), and either KeeperChat, BreachWatch, or both.
Operating System
Keeper maintains a consistent look and feel as much as possible across platforms and is available for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Kindle, Windows Phone, and Linux. It also offers browser extensions for all major browsers: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, and Safari. Keeper is ranked highly among Android and Apple users with 4.5 and 4.9 scores, respectively. It was also selected as Editor’s Choice on Google Play.
Customer Support
Keeper offers excellent customer support compared with other password managers. This includes 24/7 access via live chat, ticketing system, or phone. Alternatively, users can use Keeper’s comprehensive help center, which offers anything from quick start guides to Q&A technical support, FAQ, video tutorials, and even webinars. The endless amount of resources should be more than enough for any user, private, or business.
Features
Keeper’s Unlimited offers all of the features as in the free version plus:
- Sync Across Devices
Keeper’s Internet Sync feature allows you to sync information between your devices and protect your data in case your device is lost, stolen, damaged, or replaced. - Password Autofill
The KeeperFill feature allows you to generate and automatically fill strong passwords. - Identity and Payment Info
Allows you to scan and store payment cards for a quick checkout process. - Custom Fields
Allows you to create custom fields for any sensitive information, notes, and records. - Secure File Storage
Allows you to protect photos, videos, and other sensitive data using a highly-secure, encrypted vault. - Two Factor Authentication
Supports all two-factor authentication methods, including TOTP, Face ID, Fingerprint, SMS and U2F security keys like YubiKey. - Secure Sharing
Allows you to share passwords and other sensitive data with friends, family, or colleagues. - Emergency Access
Allows users to add up to five emergency contacts that would have access to the vault in any case of emergency. - Version History
Allows you to restore previous, deleted versions and records.
Note that Keeper offers paid subscriptions a few additional features/add-ons (e.g., KeeperChat, BreachWatch) at a discounted price.
Keeper for Business
Users looking for a robust password manager for their business will be pleased with Keeper’s business offering, offered at $2.50 per user a month with a 14-day free trial.
A business includes a variety of dedicated features, such as automated provisioning, delegated administration, AD and SSO integration, auditing and reporting, and various compliance standards. Organizations can even add dedicated onboarding and training.
Larger organizations with stricter security and compliance standards can also opt for Keeper’s Enterprise at $4.30 per user a month. This plan includes all of the features available in the business plan plus additional, enterprise-level features, including SAML 2.0, active directory and LDAP sync, Email auto-provisioning, and developer APIs for password rotation and backend integration.
Verdict
Keeper is one of the best value-for-money password managers we’ve tested so far. Its excellent reputation, elegant interface, top-notch security, and seamless user experience make it a worthwhile choice, both for individuals looking to protect themselves against data breaches as well as for businesses and large organizations looking to streamline their workflows.