It opens with no network at all
The vault is on the device and decrypted there. Aeroplane mode is the honest test of any manager and this one passes it, because there is nothing to fetch.
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Explore apps Zen Passwords · reviewed
A password manager for travelling, that works with no signal
Travel is where a password manager either proves itself or fails in the least convenient place available. Zen Passwords keeps the vault on the device, so an aeroplane, a foreign SIM or a hotel network that blocks half the internet changes nothing.
the situation
The specific ways this goes wrong away from home
Every one of these is ordinary. None of them requires anybody to be attacked.
- The vault needs a network to unlock, and you are somewhere without one.
- Your passport number is needed at a check in desk and it is in a photo, in a chat, somewhere.
- A card gets declined and the bank number to call is saved in the same account you cannot get into.
- You sign into your password manager over hotel wifi, which is the one network you would least like to do that on.
- Your phone goes missing and everything was only on the phone.
why this one
Why the offline-first shape matters here
Each of these is behaviour the app has today.
Documents belong in it
Passport and identity details, cards with the numbers you actually need at a desk, and secure notes for the things that do not fit a form. Not just website logins.
One-time codes travel with you
The authenticator lives in the same vault, so a login that needs a code does not depend on a second device you may have left behind or a text message to a number that does not roam.
Nothing to sign into on a strange network
There is no ZenProducts account, so there is no login screen to type a master password into over a network you have never seen before. You unlock the local vault instead.
On the iPad and the Mac too, if you want
Optional sync through your own Apple ID means the same vault is on the machine you took as a backup, without a vendor account in between.
Unlock the way you already do
Face ID or Touch ID for convenience, with the master password still the thing that actually holds the key. Useful when you are unlocking it at a desk with people behind you.
Be honest with yourself
Where this leaves you exposed
Offline first is a real trade and travelling is where the cost of it shows up.
- If you lose the only device that has the vault and you never turned sync on, the vault is gone. Nobody can restore it for you.
- You cannot get to it from a borrowed or hotel computer, because there is no web version and there will not be one.
- There is nobody to call. We never receive your master password, so support cannot let you in from the road.
- If your travel companion needs the booking reference too, there is no sharing.
The mitigation is unglamorous and takes five minutes: turn sync on before you leave, or make one encrypted export and confirm you can open it.
how to start
The twenty minutes before you fly
Done once, this is the difference between an inconvenience and a ruined day.
Put the documents in first
Passport number and expiry, any visa reference, the driving licence you will hire a car with. These are the ones you get asked for while standing up.
Add the cards you are taking, and the number to call
Both cards, and the bank’s international phone number as a secure note. A blocked card abroad is common and the number is always inside the app you cannot reach.
Move your one-time codes over before you go
Not at the airport. Moving an authenticator requires access to the accounts, which is exactly what you will not have if something goes wrong later.
Turn sync on, or make an export
One of the two, so a lost phone is an inconvenience. This is the step people skip and the only one that matters if the phone goes.
Test it in aeroplane mode at home
Switch the network off and open the vault. If it opens on your sofa it will open on the plane, and you will have found out on a day when it does not matter.
questions
Zen Passwords for this
Does it work with no internet?
Yes. The vault is stored and decrypted on the device, so it opens in aeroplane mode, on a foreign network, or with no signal at all. Sync is the only part that needs a connection and it is optional.
Can I get into my vault from a hotel computer?
No. There is no web version and no browser login, which is deliberate: it also means there is no login page anywhere for someone to phish. Take a device you trust.
What if I lose my phone abroad?
If sync was on, the vault is on your other Apple devices under your own Apple ID. If it was not, and you have no export, the vault is gone and nobody can recover it, including us.
Can I store my passport in it?
Yes, as an identity item, alongside cards and secure notes. It stays encrypted on the device rather than sitting in your camera roll.
Try it
Zen Passwords
Passports, cards and codes in a vault that opens in aeroplane mode.
other situationsBuilt for
Built for
a job, not everyone.
Freelancers and solo consultants
Client logins and your own business details, on your devices, with nothing shared.
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Your own work logins, in a vault with no console for anyone to look into.
Read itYouTubers and video creators
Mirrored glass mode, front camera takes, and no watermark on the way out.
Read itConference and keynote speakers
Know the runtime before you walk on, and keep the talk off a server.
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