Why Older Adults (Don't) Use Password Managers

TL;DR

This study investigates why older adults (>60 years) are less likely to adopt password managers, revealing trust issues, motivations, and the impact of education, through qualitative interviews and comparison with prior research on younger populations.

Contribution

It replicates and extends prior work by focusing on older adults, highlighting unique barriers and motivators for password manager adoption in this demographic.

Findings

Older adults have higher mistrust of cloud storage and synchronization.

Family recommendations significantly motivate adoption.

Fears of a single point of failure influence perceptions.

Abstract

Password managers (PMs) are considered highly effective tools for increasing security, and a recent study by Pearman et al. (SOUPS'19) highlighted the motivations and barriers to adopting PMs. We expand these findings by replicating Pearman et al.'s protocol and interview instrument applied to a sample of strictly older adults (>60 years of age), as the prior work focused on a predominantly younger cohort. We conducted n=26 semi-structured interviews with PM users, built-in browser/operating system PM users, and non-PM users. The average participant age was 70.4 years. Using the same codebook from Pearman et al., we showcase differences and similarities in PM adoption between the samples, including fears of a single point of failure and the importance of having control over one's private information. Meanwhile, older adults were found to have higher mistrust of cloud storage of passwords and cross-device synchronization. We also highlight PM adoption motivators for older adults, including the power of recommendations from family members and the importance of education and outreach to improve familiarity.