Ask HN: How are you managing aging relatives passwords?

rylando · 2026-09-14T15:46:01.000Z

Looking for how or what services others use to manage their aging relatives passwords? Is 1Password still the choice?

runjake 19 days ago |

A paper notepad with stickies all tucked inside and stored in a safe. Then I try to get them MFA'd.

They ain't going to figure out or tolerate the likes of what 1Password has become. Anything on their Windows PC is going to get pwned.

apothegm 17 days ago |

My dad gave me his password manager master password and his laptop password. I added both to my password manager. He tracks my mom’s most important passwords in the password manager, too.

We also talked about setting up a family account and sharing in his password manager, but it hasn’t become a priority yet vs the other late life planning stuff.

spottedmarley 15 days ago |

I built VALT, a chrome extension to manage their passwords.

https://spottedmarley.com/valt

That page is written in easy to understand old-people-friendly prose (and has a few missing screenshots).

mattbrewsbytes 20 days ago |

You used the plural "passwords", what makes you think there are multiple?

The people I have in mind sometimes get confused with basic iPhone functionality like Maps and CarPlay. I would think 1password is the solution but honestly a physical notebook is probably more their speed.

boltguo 20 days ago |

I primarily use the built-in password manager on my iPhone. It’s very convenient; besides storing passwords, it allows for quick autofill when logging in and supports passkeys and 2FA.

sendhello 21 days ago |

I think so 1password works fine. They find it easier. I have few who even keep a diary with password of few websites they use. They just don't trust digital haha

tim333 20 days ago |

I encourage mum to use the built in one in Chrome as that tends to pop up anyway. I tried setting up Bitwarden but it didn't get used.

verdverm 21 days ago |

I recommend they get a physical key (yubikey), it's more intuitive or natural for the pre-digital-first generations

aristofun 21 days ago | |

Can you use yubikey as a primary login mechanism? How?

Otherwise having same password on every service doesn’t look secure, and what would you need to do if it’s compromised.

toomuchtodo 21 days ago | |

Recommend two, one for them, one for you. Add both to all accounts. Upon death, you won't have to search for theirs.

verdverm 21 days ago | | |

good call on the two, I actually have two personally, one for primary email, one for all the other logins, so now we are at four keys

toomuchtodo 21 days ago | | |

Passkeys are also fine imho, I use Apple Passwords and share passkeys with various groups (partner, immediate family, extended family) for various systems, depending on access audience.

Also, consider a legacy contact if you're in the Apple ecosystem. For those who rely on me as an unofficial trustee and guardian, I have them add me as their legacy contact, and I then print out multiple copies of the legacy contact key page, laminate it, and distribute it physically (it's a one page QR code with some details on it). It can also be bound between Apple accounts. A death certificate will be required to access a legacy contact.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/102631

https://support.apple.com/en-us/103128

verdverm 21 days ago | | |

I refuse to use any biometric based auth, so passkeys are a nope for me

laminated physical backup codes, you are a hero among peasants friend!

Jtsummers 21 days ago | | |

You don't need biometric authentication for passkeys, though.

chrisjj 16 days ago | | |

... except if they've been required to change an expired password.

rylando 21 days ago | |

What a great idea! I never would’ve thought of a Yubikey for this

toast0 21 days ago |

Write it down in the book:

https://www.amazon.com/What-Fuck-Password-Other-Remember/dp/...

Keep the book in the office by the laptop.

cjs_ac 21 days ago | |

My grandparents did this, but didn’t realise that it would be useful to write down what each password was for. They also didn’t realise that the spelling of a password was important.

I don’t even…

toast0 21 days ago | | |

lol well yeah. This book has fields for website, and A-Z legends, so presumably you put your Amazon password in the A section, and your hacker news password in the H section, and it's useful.

But I've been helping my MIL with some tech stuff lately. She signed up for Verizon 5G home internet, and cancelled her whole Comcast/Xfinity account. And was then surprised to find she wouldn't have cable TV anymore. :P

Also, Verizon coverage in her unit is terrible which she should know because she has them for her cell phone. But I guess she never realized that the internet was good at home because of the wifi from cable. sigh