There is no single alternative to a traditional password manager. A browser- or phone-integrated manager may cover personal accounts; SSO centralises access to selected work apps; and passkeys replace passwords on services that support them. A dedicated manager remains useful for other credentials. The right choice depends on the accounts, devices, and access your team needs to manage.
Start with the access you want to replace
First list the accounts involved: personal accounts, work apps, shared services, and tools that still require a password. A sign-in method may remove the need to type a password for some accounts without storing or organising the other credentials. This distinction helps avoid choosing a tool that covers only part of your needs.
Use the manager built into your devices
Google Password Manager can save passwords and passkeys to a Google Account or on a device; Apple Passwords and iCloud Keychain make them available across approved Apple devices. These options avoid installing a third-party manager and can work well when they cover your devices and workflows. Check Google’s and Apple’s documentation for supported devices, sync, and sharing.
Before relying on one as your only solution, check devices it does not cover, team accounts, and how to export or recover access. Features vary by operating system, browser, and account.
Use SSO for work applications
Single sign-on (SSO) lets a person sign in once to access multiple applications configured with the same identity provider. It can reduce the number of separate passwords users enter for those services. Its coverage depends on compatible apps and the organisation’s configuration; personal accounts and access outside SSO still need to be managed. Microsoft Learn explains how SSO works and what deployment involves.
SSO is not a universal vault: it handles sign-in to connected apps, but does not store passwords for services that are not integrated or other team credentials.
Use passkeys on compatible services
A passkey lets you sign in to a website or app without entering a password. The browser or operating system checks the service identity and asks you to confirm on your device. The service must support passkeys, however, so they do not replace credentials for every account. The FIDO Alliance explains how passkeys work, and Google describes how they are created and used on compatible websites in its developer documentation.
Passkeys can be stored and synced by a built-in manager or another compatible provider. They complement credential management rather than automatically making every password manager unnecessary.
Keep a dedicated manager for other credentials
A dedicated manager remains useful if you need to retrieve passwords for many services, use different operating systems, or organise shared credentials that do not use SSO. Compare supported devices, sharing, export, recovery, and where the vault is stored. See our team password-sharing guide and password manager security guide to define your criteria.
Soclyde’s local-first option
Soclyde is a dedicated local-first manager: the encrypted vault stays on authorised devices, without a central cloud vault operated by Soclyde. With Premium, authorised devices sync directly. This model may suit you if you want the vault kept on your devices; it does not replace SSO for compatible apps or passkeys offered by a service. Learn more in our guide to local-first password managers.
Takeaway
Built-in managers, SSO, and passkeys solve different problems: storing passwords within an ecosystem, accessing configured work apps, or signing in without a password to compatible services. A dedicated manager can still cover the accounts and access left over. Choose based on the devices, sharing, and recovery you actually need, then contact Soclyde to explore the local-first approach.
