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Passwords

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Passwords is an app that allows you to store, generate, and manage highly secure passwords. You can directly enter these passwords on your computer using the Passwords app on your Ledger device. The Passwords app transforms your Ledger device into a keyboard to directly type your passwords.

The Passwords app becomes available in My Ledger if Developer mode is activated in Settings > General. Get started using the instructions in this article.

Before you start

Instructions

Step 1. Install the Passwords app
  1. Open My Ledger in Ledger Live.
  2. Connect and unlock your Ledger device.
  3. If asked, allow My Ledger to access your device.
  4. Find Passwords in the app catalog.
  5. Click the Install button of the app.
    • An installation window appears.
    • Your device will display Processing...
    • The app installation is confirmed.

  If the app could not be installed, free up some storage space by uninstalling apps. This does not affect your crypto assets, secured in the blockchain.

Step 2. Launch Passwords
  1. Connect and unlock your device using your PIN code.
  2. Press the right or left button to select the Passwords app from the dashboard.
  3. Press both buttons to open the app.
Step 3. Set the keyboard layout

Setting the keyboard layout for the first time

  1. Press the right button to select the layout of your computer. Qwerty, Qwerty international, and Azerty are supported.
  2. Press both buttons to confirm.

Changing the keyboard layout

  1. Open the Passwords app.
  2. Press the right button to select Settings. Press both buttons to enter.
  3. Press both buttons to select Change keyboard layout.
  4. Press the right button to select the layout of your computer. Qwerty, Qwerty international, and Azerty are supported.
  5. Press both buttons to confirm.
Step 4. Create a password
  1. Open the Passwords app.
  2. Press the right button to select New password. Press both buttons to enter.
  3. Press both buttons to select the types of characters you want to use in your passwords:
    • With / Without uppercase
    • With / Without lowercase
    • With / Without numbers
    • With / Without dashes
    • With / Without extra symbols
  4. Press the right button to select Create password. Press both buttons to confirm.
  5. Enter the first character of your password nickname by pressing the right or left button. Press both buttons to select the character. Repeat the process for each character of your password nickname.
  6. Once you have entered all the characters of the password nickname, press the right or left button to select the check mark.
  7. Press both buttons to confirm.

  Note that the password nickname is not your actual password. The device generates a deterministic password from the password nickname you have entered and your 24-word recovery phrase.

Step 5. Type a password
  1. On your computer, click on the field where you want to enter the password.
  2. Connect and unlock your device using your PIN code.
  3. Open the Passwords app.
  4. Press both buttons to select Type password.
  5. Press the right button to select the relevant password.
  6. Press both buttons to enter the password on your computer.
    The actual password appears on your computer screen.

   Important: How to backup your passwords

Since your passwords are deterministically generated from your 24-word recovery phrase and your password nicknames, you can still retrieve your passwords in the following situations:

  • In case of loss, theft, or destruction of your device, you can still restore your passwords as long as you have your 24-word recovery phrase and have a backup of your password nicknames and the type of characters associated with each one.
  • In the case of firmware or application updates, the list of password nicknames is not automatically restored. But if you have your 24-word recovery phrase and have a backup of your password nicknames, you can manually restore the password nicknames.

It is highly recommended to save a backup of your nickname passwords. You should use this web application Passwords Backup to backup and/ or restore the list of password nicknames stored inside the Passwords app on your Ledger device. A best practice is to create a new backup every time you add a new password. The passwords generated by this app are very secure, but in exchange, this app requires to be managed carefully.

In case you want to restore from JSON file and you don't have it but you have the nicknames for the passwords, you can download an empty JSON file here.

Keep in mind that the backups don’t contain any confidential data. To retrieve your passwords, an attacker would need your list of password nicknames, the associated types of characters, and your 24-word recovery phrase. In other words, these backup files don’t require to be hidden but you need to have them. 

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