Using LastPass on your iPhone and Android devices

- Using LastPass on your smartphone or tablet can save you time, energy, and ensure you always have the information you need right at your fingertips. The LastPass mobile app allows you to add, edit, and delete your passwords and secure notes, as well as use your logins within your phone or tablet browser. LastPass mobile is a feature available on premium accounts. To upgrade your account to premium, visit LastPass.com. I'll use an iPhone for this demonstration. The app works similarly in the android and tablet versions.

I'll mention any differences as we come across them. After you've downloaded the app, tap the icon to open it. On the first screen, enter the username and password for your LastPass account. You can choose to have LastPass remember your password. You also have the option on android to remember your email. This reduces the amount of protection available for your LastPass data, so I recommend you deselect either of these options you have. On iPhone, if you want to access your information when you're not connected to the Internet or cellular, tap the check the selection next to Login Offline on this screen, as well.

When you finished entering your information, tap Login. Once you log in, you'll see your Vault. Similar to the desktop version, your logins and secure notes will be organized in their folders. The first screen is your list of logins. To get to your secure notes, click the Notes tab. On iPhone, this is at the bottom of the screen, and android is on the top. I'll go back to my list of logins. To log in to any of your saved websites within a browser, simply tap the site name in your Vault. Then select Launch.

Your site will launch in a new tab within the LastPass browser, and your login information will be completed for you. To close the site, click the small gray X at the top right of the site tab. If you only want to view your login details in order to log in through another app, you can tap the name, and either select Copy Username or Copy Password to copy this information to your clipboard, or you can select Show Password to just view the password. You can also select View to view your full login details.

This includes your Username, and by tapping the eye icon next to the Password, you'll be able to view your password, as well. To edit a login, tap the site name, and in the menu, select Edit. You can adjust any of your login information on this screen. Once you've made your edits, tap Save in the top right of the screen when you're finished. The easiest way to use LastPass to complete a form in a website is to use the built-in LastPass browser. To use the LastPass browser, simply type the address for the website in the URL field at the very top of the screen.

Once on the site with the form, android has an icon in the far right-hand side of the first form field. For iPhone, you'll click the LastPass menu icon, which is the red box with a white asterisk in the very top right of the device screen. Then, select Fill Form. LastPass will ask you to select the profile you'd like to use for the form. Tap the profile you prefer. Then tap Fill, and LastPass will complete the form fields for you. Using LastPass on your mobile device is fast and easy and allows you to be efficient with logins wherever you are.

Join me for the next chapter, where I talk about the security settings and tools available to help you keep this essential data as secure as you need it to be.