So you’ve done your due diligence and created unique passwords for all your accounts. But now you struggle to remember them all. You don’t trust cloud-based services and find hardware password managers too clunky for everyday use. What else is there? How about a credit card-sized data safe that works with NFC?
The PIN-SAFE card can store up to 50 passwords, PINs, PUKs, and other sensitive data. Once linked to your phone’s IMEI number via the PIN-SAFE Android app, you can access your data using NFC and your PIN-SAFE PIN. Yes, you still have to remember that one. To access the data, just hold the card to your device’s NFC sensor and enter your PIN into the app.
Since PIN-SAFE fits into your wallet, you can conveniently carry it anywhere. Should you lose the card, your data will remain safe. First, it takes both the phone and the PIN to access it. Second, the data is encrypted with AES256. Thankfully, the PIN-SAFE package comes with a backup card.
That said, forgetting your PIN or losing access to your smartphone would render the data on your card inaccessible and forever lost. Thus, we don’t recommend using PIN-SAFE as your primary password manager. It’s a great tool to conveniently and securely access a small selection of sensitive data on your phone. You should, however, keep a secure backup of your data elsewhere.
PIN-SAFE complements traditional hardware wallets or your good old notebook. It’s safer than storing your passwords in the cloud, ultra-portable, and at EUR 19.90, it’s also affordable.
Disclaimer: We ran into a PIN-SAFE executive at IFA 2019 and received a copy of the product. Unfortunately, since PIN-SAFE has not launched outside Germany yet, we weren’t able to access the app on our phone. But we learned that the certification process for a UK launch is underway.
Read the full article: PIN-SAFE: Store Passwords on a Chipcard and Access Via NFC
