Strongbox - Password Manager

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1. ★★★★★negative experience without a specific reason· unspecific

   This review is required by Strongbox as part of the student license application process.. I will update this review based on my feelings about the app after I’ve actually gotten to use it.

2. ★★★★★negative experience without a specific reason· unspecific

   Used to be great, crashes making it unusable. I used it many years and it had always been rock solid. Now with the latest version I accidentally nuked a folder with passwords (not in its backups anymore) and as I was trying to look through some database files, the app constantly keeps crashing and it was impossible to add/open other files due to these crashes. Very disappointing, avoid.

3. ★★★★★privacy and excessive permissions

   Spyware?!. It knew my password before I typed it in?! How did it know that?! It must be saving my passwords somehow inside of it and possibly even transmitting it elsewhere like a server. No thanks!!!

4. ★★★★★an update broke a familiar workflow

   Crashes when opening the DB. After the last update the app crashes when opening the DB.

5. ★★★★★subscription and paid restrictions

   Too expensive. For an app that uses an open source software to handle the password database, this app is insanely expensive. Again, the software this app is built upon is open source. The dev has the audacity to ask $25/year, $3/month, or $100 for lifetime premium. I get the dev did have to do work, but the prices are absurd considering the hard part (handling the database) was done for them.

6. ★★★★★negative experience without a specific reason· unspecific

   What Am I Missing?. What is one to think of an iOS app that offers integration with third-party storage: OneDrive DropBox Google Drive BUT NOT ICLOUD?

7. ★★★★★subscription and paid restrictions

   Greedy Devs at work. To preface, I have never written a review before. The developers of this app did something so egregious that I decided I had to write a review. This app used to be really nice. I could save all my passwords in one place, and still use autofill from other apps. Originally, getting the “Pro” features only cost $40. This included being able to use FaceID to unlock the app, being able to download favicons, and a few other features that I didn’t really care about. I bought it back then, and then I realized that was stupid. I should just type in my password, using faceID wasn’t worth $40. So I refunded it. But lo and behold! I kept the features! For 2 years I still had the premium features! It was so nice! Then recently, when I opened the app again, I was met with a pop up. It basically said “hi user! You know those features you had? Well we took them away. And now, to get them back, it’s gonna cost only $30… PER MONTH!” There is literally nothing in this app that deserves a monthly subscription. The only things that could possibly warrant monthly subscriptions are cloud-based features, or anything that requires the app to use a service requiring a monthly subscription. It has none of these things. Now let’s just say it did have one of those things. In what world would it require enough subscriptions to total to $30/month?? That is just greed from the devs. Don’t get this app. The Apple Passwords app has all of the important features this app had, but it doesn’t bleed your bank account.

8. ★★★★★negative experience without a specific reason· unspecific

   Avoid - original dev sold out. I’ve been a lifetime subscriber and booster of Strongbox for years now, but after learning the original dev threw all of his users under the bus to the literal worst buyer he could find, I’ll be making the hard choice to move to alternatives on both MacOS and iOS. They’re already packing it with analytics and constant server contacts and not giving you the option to disable the check, just because you made the mistake of using the in-app upgrade instead of the standalone purchase. They will almost certainly be coming for lifetime users in general soon. Customer support has already taken a complete dive and the focus is moving to features nobody asked for while removing the niche options that made Strongbox so fully featured. Don’t trust the previous, raving reviews. This is a very different beast now.

9. ★★★★★subscription and paid restrictions

   New pricing model broke existing PRO subscription. Have been using and family sharing SB pro for years, the latest changes broke the login. Says I’m subscribed, then not subscribed, tells me to log in … wife unable to use Yubikey. Bad, bad, very bad.

10. ★★★★★subscription and paid restrictions

    Do not trust this company.. Do not trust this company. I purchased the app and now they put features I had before behind a paywall. There was no warning and no grandfathering for users of previous purchases. Buyer beware!

11. ★★★★★subscription and paid restrictions

    Greed Pure and Simple. I used to use Strongbox. It was a great product. But, recently they updated their app to require a subscription plan to use biometrics to unlock your database. And it’s not an insignificant amount. Too bad that greed has gotten in the way of good product. Especially when competitive products offer biometric unlocks.

12. ★★★★★negative experience without a specific reason· unspecific

    What a piece of trash!. Been using this app for a while, then all of a sudden I cannot open my password file because they have decided to start charging yearly if you are required to use a Yubi Key to open your DB! No notice, no nothing. Never gonna happen!

13. ★★★★★a needed feature is missing

    Updated - trust issues. Update: so the developer, mark, lied about being open source… a pw manager is all about trust. 0* if I could. Old review - Free user here; this is the best keepass app hands down. Only peeve I have is the placement of the “Upgrade” button. I wish it was tucked in the settings area. Nonetheless, thank you for the free option!

14. ★★★★★negative experience without a specific reason· unspecific

    Steer clear. Been a huge fan of strongbox for years and years, unfortunately the company got bought out by a company known for destroying good software (applause). Now there are tons of Reddit posts of this software sending data all over the place (not good for a password manager). People contacting support are getting no response. Strongbox, to this day, has not had its source code audited by a 3rd party. Now there is even speculation that a rug pull, burning those who bought a “lifetime” license, is imminent. I would run from this app, as far and as far as you can. Applause ruins everything they touch, maybe Broadcom will buy them soon.

15. ★★★★★negative experience without a specific reason· unspecific

    Good concept, unjustified price. Charging $30 every year or $99 for a permanent license is outrageous. It’s a password manager, but they’re pricing it like an enterprise vault. The company isn’t providing any ongoing service besides minor updates, that entitles them to the asking price.

16. ★★★★★subscription and paid restrictions

    DO NOT USE - ACQUIRED BY SCAM COMPANY. This app used to be great but the developer sold it to a company that specializes in buying apps, filling them with ads and tracking, and transitioning them to a predatory overpriced subscription model while refusing to honor previously-sold lifetime licenses. This version of the app is the subscription version, not the lifetime version, but it’s only a matter of time before they significantly hike the price from the fairly modest $25/year it currently costs.

17. ★★★★★trial charges and refunds

    Very limited with Yubikeys and NOT a free trial!. I was trying to find a KEEPASS compatible password safe, however my password safes are all protected with Yubikeys. I found this did not work well with Stongbox. It would not recognize the USB-C key or NFC on my iPad Air 4. To make matters worse, I signed up for the 3 month trial of PRO and my Credit card was immediately charged $21.29 which I am disputing now. Its not a 3 month free trial if you start charging immediately! Moving on to the next password manager.

18. ★★★★★negative experience without a specific reason· unspecific

    Sold to a questionable company. Edit: The app was sold to a company with a questionable reputation. Can no longer recommend considering the amount of trust required for a password manager. This is probably the best password manager for Apple hardware. It behaves like you expect it to, respecting platform UI guidelines while still allowing deep customization if you need it. The macOS app was a little lacking at first, but now it feels like a first-class citizen on Mac. The developers are professional and genuinely listen to feedback, which is refreshing compared to many others. If you're looking for a password manager for the Apple ecosystem without vendor lock-in, Electron apps, and other usual large company shenanigans, this is the best choice.

19. ★★★★★negative experience without a specific reason· unspecific

    NOT OPEN SOURCE!!!. Absolutely impossible to compile from source, AND they recently were purchased by a company that ruins apps.

20. ★★★★★negative experience without a specific reason· unspecific

    Sold to scum company. While I can't blame a dev for getting a payday, beware: this app has been sold to Applause. They have a long history of buying and destroying indie apps. From lying about analytics to refusing to respect lifelong licenses, it's my opinion that you should not trust this company with your secrets.

21. ★★★★★negative experience without a specific reason· unspecific

    No longer the original developer. This app has been purchased by a scummy, rent-seeking company that buys and ruins iOS apps. Anyone looking for an iOS password manager should look elsewhere at this point, unfortunately.

22. ★★★★★subscription and paid restrictions

    Sold out to raiders. Strongbox was the best Keepass app on any platform. They recently sold out to Applause which is known to charge outrageous subscriptions and collect data on users. I do NOT recommend Strongbox any longer. Very disappointing.

23. ★★★★★negative experience without a specific reason· unspecific

    Something broke 18.1 iOS. :/ I can’t add any database after updating

24. ★★★★★negative experience without a specific reason· unspecific

    In app purchases. First thing it does is prompt for “pro”. Should be tagged for in app purchases.

25. ★★★★★data, history or progress disappears

    Upgrade deleted local database. Very unhappy

26. ★★★★★negative experience without a specific reason· unspecific

    Very Limited Yubikey Support. Does not support USB-C Yubikeys pn iPads.

27. ★★★★★crashes, freezes and errors

    Can’t sync, can’t update entries. Just stopped working and no info online to fix it

28. ★★★★★negative experience without a specific reason· unspecific

    The app gives a sync error and stopped opening my database.. The app stopped opening the database for some reason. Using native iCloud storage. When contacting customer support, after several hours they sent me a link with instructions for old iOS versions. How is this possible? Access to password is mission critical. I need customer support please contact me. Very much appreciate it.

29. ★★★★★negative experience without a specific reason· unspecific

    Seriously lacking security or safety of main audience.. Why are we not able to copy/paste the passwords it generates onto different platform. This is an inconvenience and a serious flaw. I tried copying/pasting the generated password onto a texting app, and it wouldn’t let me. This honestly increases the risks victims escaping violence is expose to. Please build in a multi factor authentication ASAP and actual account security methods. Victims die every single day as a result of violent outbursts from abusers gaining unauthorized access to accounts and seeing their victims trying to escape or survivor their abuse. :/

30. ★★★★★subscription and paid restrictions

    Expensive. Very expensive, locks critical security features behind a yearly subscription or 80$ fee. No thanks.