Mozilla launches new desktop password manager, Firefox Lockwise

Mozilla office
Image credit: Iuliia Serova/Shutterstock

Mozilla has released a free password manager, Firefox Lockwise, to make it easier to manage your website logins. The launch follows the release of Lockbox – a similar tool for mobile devices

Lockwise isn't yet built into Firefox; instead it's downloadable as a browser extension. Once it's installed, you can access it by choosing 'Logins and passwords' from Firefox's main menu. Here, you'll be able to see all the login details Firefox has stored, and copy passwords or launch websites from within the extension.

You can also access Lockwise by clicking its icon, which will appear beside the address bar.

Mozilla has also launched a new interface for Firefox Monitor – a tool that launched last year, and is designed to help you see if your login details have been leaked as part of a data breach.

The new dashboard lets you monitor multiple email addresses, and receive alerts to a primary email address if any of them appear in lists of leaked data.

Cover your tracks

Mozilla is also bolstering its browser's security, and Firefox's Enhanced Tracking Protection (previously an optional setting) will soon be enabled by default.

The option will block third-party tracking cookies identified by Disconnect, which identifies domains that track users' activity without explicit permission.

“Over the past year, we’ve seen tech companies talk a big game about privacy in response to several global scandals, which have left people feeling increasingly vulnerable," said Dave Camp, senior vice president at Firefox.

"It’s unfortunate that this shift had to happen in order for tech companies to take notice. At Firefox, we believe that in order to truly protect people, we need to establish a new standard that puts people’s privacy first.

"We have been working on setting this standard by offering privacy-related features long before these issues were brought to light. We are more committed than ever to building stronger online protections for everyone, and these new Firefox features are indicative of our dedication to helping people stay safe whenever they use Firefox.”

Cat Ellis

Cat is the editor of TechRadar's sister site Advnture. She’s a UK Athletics qualified run leader, and in her spare time enjoys nothing more than lacing up her shoes and hitting the roads and trails (the muddier, the better)