DLS Exclusive: sneak peek at LastPass for the iPhone
I've been using the LastPass bookmarklet for a while now to securely access my password vault from my iPod Touch. It gets the job done, and it's certainly much easier than re-entering all my passwords into Safari.
Yesterday, I received an email from LastPass' Joe Siegrist with some exciting news: they've been quietly working on an iPhone app, and were ready to let me take it for a test drive. So far, it's looking good.
In addition to providing secure access to your LastPass vault, the app also includes a useful notepad function. It's a good place to store sensitive informations on your iPod, and the notes are also accessible via the web interface. They get stored in your vault in a group called (logically enough) secure notes.
Once you've signed in to the app with your master password you can browse or search for a site and log in. Press the go button, and the login page is displayed with your details pre-filled.
The toolbar currently includes forward and back buttons, return (to go back to the iLastPass main screen), and a LastPass button to take care of form filling duties. The form fill is a real time saver on the iPod and makes site registrations and checkouts a breeze.
Want to see more? Check the gallery after the break! Keep in mind that LastPass is still in development, so there will likely be changes/improvements before it hits the App Store.












Comments
6
Subscribe to commentsPaul WestbrookMay 7th 2009 4:45PM
It looks like LastPass will only fill in username and passwords in the embedded browser. How functional is the embedded browser? Does the browser support links that attempt to open the destination page in a new window?
Ideally, the embedded browser would figure out how to share cookies with the Safari browser. Then, when you log in with LastPass, then you can just go to the regular browser to continue browsing
Lee MathewsMay 7th 2009 4:49PM
I'm sure Joe will chime in here, but the guys are still hard at work on the app. I asked him briefly about bookmarks, etc. but I'll wait for him to offer some official words. ;)
Joe SiegristMay 8th 2009 10:04AM
Apple implements 'sandboxing' preventing the LastPass embedded browser from accessing the bookmarks and cookies of the built in mobile safari browser. We're still considering how to handle this best, e.g. we could ultimately become a better web browser and potentially offer to take over http:// and https://protocols. For now the 2 browsers, cookies, etc are separate.
Fox PacificMay 9th 2009 5:49PM
How about a way to allow filling the iPhone mail settings using LastPass? One of the things LastPass has allowed me to do is create random passwords that I can change often without being a real pain. On the desktop is fine because I have cut and paste and use that to populate the settings in Thunderbird and other apps but we don't have that luxury on the iPhone.
JoeJun 27th 2009 12:54AM
Seems like the easiest approach would be to drop the password into the copy paste buffer of the iPhone. Then, you can use either browse or use the email app or the facebook app etc...
Please don't try to build another browser. I think we have plenty.
Joe SiegristAug 2nd 2009 8:37PM
I wish I could control Safari so I didn't have to embed a browser but Apple doesn't allow you to do anything like that...