As you might know, Dashlane is one of our favorite password management apps. Well, our favorite password management app just got better with Dashlane 6.
Dashlane’s latest update adds quite a few features to the service. However, it also comes with a higher price point. This has led many Dashlane subscribers to wonder whether or not the service is still worth the price.
To answer that question, we took a look at everything the new Dashlane has to offer. Here are our impressions of Dashlane 6:
VPN
You probably need a VPN. We’ve talked about some of the best VPNs before, but it’s worth talking about them time and time again.
VPNs are essentially blinders that you put on internet data thieves. They create a private network that is often very hard for anyone but you to access. Think of it as your own private internet complete with security staff.
The problem with VPNs is that they can be a tough sell. They’re useful, but convincing someone to pay a lifetime – or monthly – fee for one isn’t always easy. After all, there’s only so much money to go around.
That‘s what makes Dashlane 6’s VPN service so fascinating. The fact it comes with the password management features makes it – in theory – a much easier sell.
Dashlane’s new VPN service routes your internet activity through the service’s servers. That matters because the service utilizes some very secure servers. Even better, this password manager uses a lot of servers. That means that VPN speeds should be competitively optimal.
However, all that means that the service functions a bit differently from some other VPN services. Specifically, it means that you can’t actually choose the region of your servers. That might prove to be significant a significant missing feature for many users. Choosing between servers not only opens up more connection options, it allows you to access regions for certain websites. Theoretically, that means expanding the selection of sites like Netflix.
That’s a bit disappointing, but it’s far from a dealbreaker. That’s because The real job of a VPN is to protect you in an increasingly dangerous online world. So far as that goes, Dashlane’s VPN seems to function just as it needs to. It uses established technology to create a secure lane for your internet traffic.
Again, though, the real sell here is that the service offers a VPN through their password management service. They’re not the only company to do that, but we are talking about perhaps the best password manager out there. We have no problem telling you that it will protect your passwords, so we don’t really hesitate to trust them with protecting your internet browsing.
Having said that, there is the matter of data collection. While we have no reason to believe that the provider is collecting dangerous information, we do know that the VPN collects some information. Reportedly, that information includes your VPN start and stop time as well as (presumably) your general region. If that’s all they collect, then you’ve got nothing to worry about.
Overall, premium Dashlane users might welcome the idea of paying a little more for an in-service VPN. However, we’ll dive deeper into that topic just a little later on.
Identity Dashboard
Truth be told, Dashlane 6’s Identity Dashboard isn’t an entirely new feature. However, it does improve an already great feature this password manager is famous for.
Like the old dashboard, the identity dashboard will monitor the strength of your passwords. It will also look for passwords you use too much. In other words, it makes sure you have diverse online security. This new dashboard will also monitor those passwords in real time for up-to-the-minute accuracy.
What’s also new in this update is what the service does for your online identity security. This new version monitors the “dark web” in order to determine how much of your personal information may be floating around the internet. You can even ask it to monitor up to five e-mail accounts
If there is some kind of security breach, the updated service will alert you and help you take steps to correct it. In other words, it helps prevent identity theft incidents and assists you if you’re unfortunate enough to be a victim.
In many ways, this is a natural extension of the password security system. Secure passwords are intended to guard against identity theft. However, secure passwords alone will not offer complete protection.
Does this update offer complete protection? Perhaps not, but it offers enhanced protection as well as the ability to monitor your online security in one place. More than just peace of mind, the new Identity Dashboard is a practical way to make sure the worst data incursions won’t affect you as easily.
Dashlane refers to this dashboard as a simple solution to a complex problem. That’s not entirely accurate, but it’s a good summary of what is being offered. In essence, the Identity Dashboard is the simplest solution to a complex problem that makes it impossible to guarantee 100% lifetime security. That makes it a highly desirable feature in an already great password manager.
As an added bonus, the new dashboard also offers enhanced credit monitoring services. Not only will it let you monitor your credit score, but the provider will even alert you to actions that may harm your credit. Best of all, the service will help you monitor credit violations related to identity theft.
All in all, the new dashboard is more than many will ever need when it comes to online security and enough to ensure you can feel safe.
Secure File Storage
In the interest of providing an array of services designed to enhance your internet security, Dashlane 6 offers secure file storage.
On the surface, Dashlane’s 1 GB of free storage probably doesn’t sound like much. For instance, there’s no way that you could ever fit all of your photos into 1 GB of storage.
However, Dashlane’s secure storage isn’t really designed for multimedia protection. It’s meant to protect sensitive documents and other, similar information. For instance, let’s say you want to keep bank information or passport information stored somewhere when you’re on vacation. Well, Dashlane’s secure storage is a perfect place to keep that information.
When you stop and think about it, you probably need a service like this more than you think. Many of us use sticky notes and other services to keep track of information that we need quick access to. Sometimes, this information can be of a somewhat sensitive nature. Unless you’re willing to write it down and keep it in a lockbox, though, there aren’t a lot of great options.
What Dashlane’s secure storage does is give you the absolute safest notes app that you could ever ask for. The fact that you can access Dashboard Premium on mobile devices means that it’s that much easier to access this information wherever you need it.
Honestly, this is one of the best new features of Dashlane 6. It’s certainly the new feature that you need most even if you don’t think that you need it.
Identity Restoration and Identity Theft Insurance
We alluded to this feature in the previous section, but it’s well-worth expanding on.
Along with helping you to monitor identity breaches, Dashlane is boldly promising to help you get your life together after identity theft occurs. The reason that’s so bold is that identity theft recovery can be a messy, tricky business. You never want to go through it.
If you do go through it, though, you can take advantage of the insurance Dashlane 6 offers. Yes, thanks to a partnership with TransUnion, the new version of Dashlane offers you the option to claim up to $1 million in damages related to identity theft (with the Premium Plus plan).
That’s hardly an insignificant feature. It’s not exactly worth relying on as your only form of insurance, but again, we’re talking about insurance on top of an already great service. What that insurance really is, then, is a way that Dashlane is expressing confidence in the prevention services they offer.
That’s not to say that the insurance isn’t practical – it is – but it’s also the last resort. The first line of defense is general identity theft prevention techniques and the second is Dashlane 6’s features that help you monitor your identity status.
Those will protect many against the most common identity theft attempts. Should they not for some reason, Dashlane still has your back.
It’s not just insurance the new Dashlane offers, though. They’re also providing users with a help hotline that you can call if you need any assistance with identity theft related to Dashlane or identity theft in general.
The real selling point to consider when looking at Dashlane 6’s new protection options isn’t necessarily any of the individual features – which are quite good – but rather how Dashlane is expanding its reach as a security service.
Essentially, Dashlane is slowly becoming the internet equivalent of a digital home security system. Through the new Dashlane dashboard, you are able to control online security much like a keypad in your home lets you control home security.
It’s that idea of a “one-stop-shop” for online protection that really makes these security features so appealing.
Is Dashlane 6 Worth the Price Increase? (Final Impressions)
Let’s get right to it: is Dashlane 6 worth the price increase?
It’s the one question that matters most. After all, the old version of Dashlane Premium cost $40 a year. This new version costs $60 a year. You can also access a “Premium Plus” subscription for $10 a month.
Essentially, the value of Dashlane 6 is based on the value of whether or not the new features equal $20 or more worth of content. Let’s take a feature by feature look at that:
VPN
Theoretically, you can get a VPN service with a full array of features for about $3 a month. However, that price assumes that you pay for multiple years of service in advance. Even then, you’re talking about $36 a year for just a VPN.
Dashlane’s VPN is hardly elaborate. It might not even be enough for some. For those just looking for VPN protection, though, it will certainly do the job. Let’s lowball this figure and say the VPN is worth $1.50 a month.
VPN Worth – $18 a year
Identity Dashboard/Credit Monitoring
This one is a little trickier to judge. Let’s say you could get a standalone credit service that offers what Dashlane offers for about $8.99 a month. That’s being a little generous due to how few services offer this range of features in one package, but it’s a mostly fair estimate.
Again, Dashlane doesn’t offer quite as much as a fully-fledged credit monitoring service or quite as much as fully-fledged identity protection services. What it does do, though, is give you most of the best of both worlds.
In the interest of fairness, let’s say this service is worth $3 a month.
Identity Dashboard/Credit Monitoring Worth – $36 a year
Secure File Storage (1 GB)
You can actually find a lot of “secure” note apps for free, but we recommend paying for enhanced protection when you’re choosing one.
That being the case, let’s once again go with the low market figure when it comes to estimating Dashlane’s file storage value.
Secure File Storage Worth – $6 a year
If we add these conservative estimates up, we find that Dashlane’s 6’s new figures are worth about $60 a year on their own. Again, that’s a rounded down estimate based on features and relative market value.
What we’re saying is that you could make the argument that Dashlane 6’s new features alone justify the overall cost of Dashlane Premium for a year. That value might change based on personal needs, but the numbers add up.
However, how does Dashlane compare to other premium password Management services? Well, the only other services that come close to offering what Dashlane offers are LastPass and 1Password. LastPass premium costs an individual user $24 a year and 1Password costs $36 a year.
Sadly, neither of them offer native VPN or advanced Identity/Credit monitoring services. Given that the estimated value of those services is about $50 a year, then you can certainly make the argument that Dashlane 6 is still the best value despite the price increase.
While it’s a bit of a shame Dashlane doesn’t offer a lower tier premium option, it’s hard to argue against the feature package they’ve assembled.
Final Verdict – Dashlane 6 greatly improves the premium service even if its new price point might initially scare some users away.
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