Why you want a password manager

Your key is already looked after#

The key you pasted goes into your computer’s own password vault (the Keychain on a Mac, Credential Manager on Windows), where we have no way to read it. The vault is unlocked whenever your computer is, so lock the screen when you walk away.

Keep your own copy: Archie never shows a saved key again, and most AI companies show it only once. If you lose it, make a fresh key.

What a password manager is#

An app that keeps your passwords behind one you remember, and makes up a different one for each account. Then a leak at one company cannot open your email.

Three accounts to protect#

Your agent works through these accounts:

• The chat app you talk to it in. Anyone who can message as you can ask your agent to do anything you can.
• Your AI company account. Whoever gets in can make keys and spend your balance; a spending limit caps that.
• Anything else you connected, such as Google. Archie cannot add security to those for you.

Turn on two-factor#

Two-factor asks for a code from your phone after the password, so a stolen password is not enough. Turn it on for those three, about two minutes each. In Archie, the Settings page has a checklist under Privacy that links to each one.

Picking a password manager#

• The one built into your browser, phone, or computer: free, and it fills in, makes up, and syncs passwords.
• A dedicated app: worth paying for if you mix phone and computer brands, share passwords with a partner, or want leak alerts.

Setting up a password manager#

1. Pick one; install it on the computer and phone you use most.
2. Choose its one password: a long phrase you can remember.
3. Print its recovery code and keep it in a drawer: your way back in.
4. Change the three accounts’ passwords, letting the manager make each one.
5. Turn on two-factor for those three while you’re there.
6. Add everything else as you sign in over the next few weeks.