How to share passwords at work, at home, or on the go

Most likely, you and everyone you know will need to create an account with a password for something online. Whenever you do, it's crucial to choose strong and unique passwords and use great caution when sharing those passwords (or any sensitive information) with others. 

With a single stolen password, a bad actor may be able to access your accounts. Because of that, it's imperative to understand how to share passwords safely. It is also important to securely share passwords with other users, such as colleagues, family members, or clients, to ensure that only authorised individuals can access sensitive information.

Sharing passwords is often necessary. You might be in a business that requires shared access to accounts, such as official company social media channels. Or maybe you have a Spotify family account and want to share the credentials with your child who has just gone off to university. Maybe you have clients who need to access data or files within your network. 

The good news is that safely sharing information via modern password managers like Bitwarden is much easier than you might think. Let's take a look at some of the different scenarios you might run into and how to share passwords for each.

Sharing logins requires considerable security because the passwords might grant access to highly sensitive information, such as project details, company/client records, or even proprietary code. 

The best way to share passwords is through a secure system like Bitwarden Organisations. This feature allows you to create Collections that contain specific vault entries and then share those collections within an Organisation.

For example, you could create an Organisation called TeamX and then create a Collection called Accounts. In the Accounts Collection, you could create vault entries for all the login information your team needs to access the various files, folders, and data they require. Once you've created the Organisation and added a Collection, you can then share that Collection with the team. This feature (Figure 1) even allows you to control the type of access the team members have to the vault items (User, Manager, Admin, Owner, or Custom).

If you're sharing credentials with friends or relatives for, say, Spotify or another streaming service family account, Bitwarden has another handy feature built in. This level of sharing is still important and requires care but may not require that you create Organisations and Collections.

This feature is called Bitwarden Send, which allows you to securely share sensitive information, such as usernames/passwords for an account, in such a way that you have control over how long the Send is valid, how many times it can be accessed, and when it will be deleted. Bitwarden Send allows you to securely share files or text and even add notes (Figure 2). Once you've created the Send, you can copy the link and share it with whoever needs the information.

One very handy aspect of Bitwarden Send is that once you create a Send, it will remain listed in your Desktop or Mobile app, so you can easily access and re-share it later if needed.

Bitwarden also offers a plan that will give you a Families organisation that allows a total of six users to store and share passwords in Bitwarden. This is a great way to share passwords and help make sure every family member practises excellent password habits.

One thing to keep in mind is that Organisations are not limited to business purposes. Although you’ll need a paid account to use the feature, you can always create an Organisation for family and one for friends and then create various collections within. For example, you could create an Organisation called Family and then create a collection for adults and one for children. Children, for example, won’t need to access bank accounts. Note that Organisations must be set up from the Bitwarden Web App.

Bitwarden Send is a handy way to share a one-off vault entry with a client or team member. If you're constantly on the go, Bitwarden's mobile app includes the Send feature and can also interact with Collections. In the end, once you know how to share passwords with your clients, colleagues, friends, and family, you'll find you no longer have to worry about sending that sensitive information via an insecure method. 

As far as pricing is concerned, to gain access to the Organisations feature, you'll either need a Families plan (which is only US$3.99/month for six users in total) or one of the two Business plans (starting at US$4.00/month/user).

In summary, to ensure secure password sharing, follow these best practices:

• Use a password manager: Password managers provide a secure way to store and share passwords, using end-to-end encryption and secure links. They also help you generate and manage strong, unique passwords for each account.

• Use strong passwords: Avoid password reuse and use unique and strong passwords for each account. Strong passwords are harder to crack and provide better protection for your accounts.

• Limit access: Only share passwords with those who need access, and revoke access when it’s no longer needed. Limiting access reduces the risk of unauthorised access and helps maintain control over your sensitive information.

• Use secure links: Use secure links, like Bitwarden Send, to share sensitive information, and ensure that the link is only accessible by the intended recipient. Secure links can be set to expire after a certain period or number of accesses.

By following these best practices and using secure password sharing solutions, individuals and organisations can ensure that sensitive information is shared securely and protected from unauthorised access.

Ready to share passwords securely with Bitwarden? Learn more about the Bitwarden password manager for business teams or keep your team and company colleagues safe by starting a 7-day free business trial, or register today for a free individual account.