What’s the very first app you should download onto a brand new iPhone?

The first app you get should be Dashlane, a rock-solid, easy-to-use password manager that is Cult of Mac’s official security app.

When you start from scratch, you face a big problem — passwords! Dashlane solves that.

Starting from scratch

When you get a brand new iPhone, it’s often a good idea to download all your apps from scratch. Yes, it’s a lot easier to reinstall your phone from a backup, but starting from scratch offers some advantages: Mainly, you get to do an app audit, downloading and reinstalling only those apps that you use, and not all the joke fart apps you foolishly downloaded at some holiday party.

But when you start from scratch, you must re-enter all your passwords into dozens of apps.

Luckily, Apple’s latest version of iOS makes this a lot easier, thanks to its built-in password-remembering features. Plus, iOS 12 added support for third-party password managers, which now work with compatible apps. It’s a huge and welcome change.

Being able to use a third-party password manager makes everything a lot easier, especially with Touch ID and Face ID on the latest phones.

At this point, you might be asking yourself: Is it really safe to give Dashlane all my passwords?

The short answer is yes. Dashlane employs a patented security architecture that encrypts user passwords with a private key technology. That means no hacker can expose all of Dashlane’s passwords at once.

Think of it this way: Dashlane users each have their own private safety deposit box. To get Dashlane’s encrypted user data, a hacker would need to manually open every single box one at a time using each user’s unique master password. That’s why it’s important to make sure you use a complex and long master password, as that’s the only way info can ever be accessed in Dashlane.

Good security has never been easier

Dashlane stores logins, helps you change passwords and generate stronger passwords.
Dashlane stores logins, helps you change passwords and generate stronger passwords.
Screenshots: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

So the very first app I download when setting up a new iPhone is Dashlane. It is a full-featured and well-designed password manager that works across all my devices.

Thanks to Dashlane, I don’t actually know any of my passwords. They’re all long, incomprehensible strings of letters, numbers and symbols that are impossible to memorize. And — hopefully! — impossible to crack.

I just need to remember one password — the master password for the Dashlane app. And thanks to Touch ID and Face ID, I don’t really need to remember that, either. My fingerprint or my face unlocks the app.

How to get started

First of all, download and install Dashlane. It’s free.

If you’re a previous user, like me, it sucks up all your passwords from Dashlane’s servers, which stores your password vault.

It’s also simple to export your passwords from other password managers, which you’ll want to do before setting up a new iPhone.

Then head to your iPhone’s Settings.

Select Passwords and Accounts and then Autofill Passwords.

Switch on AutoFill Passwords and select Dashlane as your preferred password manager.

Now you’re all set.

You can start downloading all your apps — Twitter, FaceBook, the Cult of Mac Magazine app — and when you open them up, Dashlane is ready to fill in user names and passwords for you.

Autofill works in Safari and dozens of other apps that support third-party password managers.

It’s really dead easy.

So, take it from me, the first app you download should be Dashlane.

Cult of Mac’s official password manager

Dashlane has everything you need in a password manager. In addition to passwords, Dashlane remembers your credit cards, your Social Security and passport numbers, Wi-Fi info and a whole bunch of other things.

Dashlane’s great Security Dashboard makes it practically effortless to track your online security and update it as necessary.

The company monitors the dark web for security breaches, then alerts you if any of the services you use have been breached. If so, Dashlane helps you set things straight.

It has a bold and colorful interface. Everything is laid out clearly and logically.

That’s why we made Dashlane the official password manager of Cult of Mac.

Dashlane is the security app we use at Cult of Mac to secure all our passwords. It’s the password manager we recommend to our readers. Even my mom uses it.

If you’re not using a password manager, you should start right now.

Pricing and conclusion

Dashlane is free for one device. It costs just $4.99 a month (billed annually at $59.99 a year) if you want to sync passwords across devices, which you will more than likely want to do.

You might think you don’t need one, but a password manager is a must-have if you do anything online.

With rampant online fraud, and almost daily data breaches, a password manager dramatically increases your online security with almost no extra effort.

All in all, Dashlane is a well-designed and easy-to-use service that provides a lot of security and peace of mind without much hassle.

For its ease-of-use, rock-solid security and the Security Dashboard, we recommend Dashlane wholeheartedly.

Download from: Dashlane

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