Bringing intuitive workflows and visual updates to the Bitwarden browser extension

Tips for long-time Bitwarden users: Looking for a familiar workflow such as quick copy buttons and more? Learn how you can customize Bitwarden to enhance your experience.

The Bitwarden mission is to empower everyone to take control of their digital security. This means not only helping individuals and businesses build strong cybersecurity practices but also delivering a seamless and intuitive user experience across all products.

The browser extension plays a key role in this mission, serving as the primary interface for many users to quickly and securely manage their passwords. Recent updates, such as a more native look and feel for the mobile app and redesigned navigation in the web application, reflect ongoing efforts to listen to feedback and make meaningful improvements.

The redesigned Bitwarden browser extension is now live, introducing a more modern look and feel, streamlined workflows, and thoughtful updates to make password management more intuitive.

Read on to see what’s changed:

As Bitwarden continues to grow, the browser extension needs to grow alongside it. With new features being added, it’s essential for the Bitwarden experience to stay simple, intuitive, and accessible to everyone.

This redesign focuses on creating a modern, approachable experience—that makes password management enjoyable for everyone in achieving their security goals.

The Bitwarden team has been working hard to improve the browser extension based on user feedback. Here are some of the changes you can expect to see in the coming months:

The extension now has a cleaner, more modern design with updated colors, typography, and layouts that make everything feel more modern and approachable.

Streamlined workflows

Key actions and features are now easier to access, with workflows designed to be more intuitive and efficient. For example:

• The New Item button has been redesigned as a dropdown, providing quicker access to specific item types for faster creation.

• A new Fill button has been added to the vault experience, making autofilling credentials more prominent and accessible.

• The Item view has been reorganized, with fields grouped under logical headings and some labels updated for better understanding—Website now replaces URI, for instance.

• Copy functionality has been simplified into a single, unified copy menu, offering a cleaner and more discoverable functionality.

Integrated Search and Filters

The Tab and Vault views have been combined to create a more consistent vault experience when browsing vault items. Filters for vaults, collections, folders, and item types are now integrated directly into the main view, allowing you to refine search results without needing to navigate away.

Bitwarden users have different needs and preferences, and the redesigned extension introduces flexible options to accommodate different ways of using the browser extension:

• Compact Mode: Ideal for users who want to see more vault items at once.

• Light and Dark Modes: Choose a theme that matches your preferences for a light or dark interface.

• Adjustable Width: Choose from default, wide, or extra-wide views to increase horizontal space and text visibility.

Hundreds of users provided their feedback on the new redesign. Every suggestion was analyzed and explored, and the great ideas from the community helped refine the design into what it is today. Bitwarden is continuously iterating, and user feedback remains at the heart of the Bitwarden experience. Thank you to everyone that participated and provided thoughtful comments and insight. Not everything was implemented in this pass, but stay tuned for more enhancements in the future.

The Bitwarden mission has always been to empower everyone to take control of their digital security, and the redesigned browser extension is another step forward in delivering on that mission. With its modern look, streamlined workflows, and thoughtful updates, this release reflects the Bitwarden commitment to creating a seamless and intuitive user experience for everyone.

Are you interested in taking a look at the new Bitwarden user interface? Create a free individual account or start a free 7-day business trial and download the Bitwarden browser extension today!

For users seeking historical Bitwarden workflows, here’s how you can make adjustments to keep the classic functionality:

1. Split out quick copy buttons

For single click buttons to copy usernames, passwords, and TOTP codes, go to Settings > Appearance > and select Show quick copy actions on Vault

2. Change the default behavior of clicking a vault item

To remove the new Fill button and have clicking anywhere on the vault item activate autofill, go to Settings > Autofill > Autofill suggestions and select Click items to autofill on Vault view

3. Increase the data density / activate ‘Compact mode’

For those that prefer to see more items at once on-screen, go to Settings > Appearance > and select Compact Mode (Beta).

There is also a new selection for Extension width in the Appearance settings window to allow for more space to see vault item names and details.

4. Use Favorites to quickly access most-used items

A Favorites section will appear above the All items list in the Vault tab if you set any item as a Favorite. To do so, open the vault item, select Edit, then click the star (☆) on the top right.

5. Coming soon: Collapse Favorites and All items lists

For users that wish to keep the Favorites and All items hidden from view when opening the extension, a forthcoming update will allow those lists to be collapsed from view. More details have been posted on the Bitwarden community subreddit.

Editor’s note, December 31, 2024: This article was originally published May 20, 2024 and has been updated to reflect that the redesign is now available, added details regarding what has changed, and added tips for adjusting and customizing the extension.