Password Manager Shared Plan: a disappointment for existing users
I must express sincere disappointment at the rollout of the Password Manager Shared Plan. I initially purchased my Premium Security plan to cover my whole family and their devices, expecting that all the features would be available to each user and instead finding that only one Password Manager account was allowed.
Believing promises from Bitdefender that the ability to add multiple users to the Password Manager was imminent, I renewed the Premium Security plan only to find that you expect users to purchase an entirely new subscription for this feature, in addition to the "Premium" plan already committed to.
The Bitdefender Password Manager: FAQ support article at https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/2700/ assured that the feature would be enabled "in the near future" before being altered by Bitdefender staff on 2023-08-03T07:14:10+00:00 to erase the reference to adding the feature to the existing subscriptions. Is this the type of misdirection and deceit we should expect from the company we trust with our digital security? At the very least, existing users who were anticipating this promised upgrade should be grandfathered in for the duration of their subscription before being asked to purchase yet another feature they'd already been sold.
Screenshot of the Bitdefender Password Manager: FAQ support article at https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/2700/ before August 3rd, 2023
Screenshot of the Bitdefender Password Manager: FAQ support article at https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/answer/2700/ after August 3rd, 2023
I am disappointed by Bitdefender's choices here. Obviously it is expensive to provide high-level security for users and increased subscription revenue is necessary to continue providing these services, but this feels like an opportunistic move at the expense of the trust of your existing userbase.
Comments
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Hello @evanpox and welcome to the Community!
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us.
If we look back at how Premium Security was originally composed, it was basically a Total Security solution paired with a Premium VPN. Following the launch of Password Manager, this service was also added in the package, to increase the benefits of this bundle during an expansion of the product portfolio.
But from the very beginning of its inclusion, Password Manager was meant for individual usage, despite the fact the antivirus could protect up to 10 devices. There were no prospects of developing a multi-user password security service at that time, and this was later considered following the feedback received from customers, as you probably know. It's true that the Premium Security product page advertises Password Manager as being included, however it is not mentioned for how many users, since at that time a single configuration was available if a Password Manager subscription was purchased separately from the antivirus.
A similar scenario applies for the VPN. If a Bitdefender security solution does not include a Premium VPN (such as Bitdefender Family Pack that covers up to 15 devices) when you purchase a Premium VPN subscription it will cover only 10 devices, not 15.
The Support article stated that the multi-user feature is under development and will be made available at some point, however it did not confirm the number of accounts nor its inclusion in the existing Premium Security bundle. Moreover, the Password Manager Shared Plan can secure password storage for up to 4 people, thus even if it was included in Premium Security, it couldn't cover 10 devices.
I regret to hear you have been dissapointed and for what is worth, the split was made taking all technical limitations into account, but also user feedback received by the product teams over the course of development and implementation of the service. I think some users may not require multiple accounts for Password Manager in their Premium Security suite, and for the ones that do, a shared plan was made available separately.
Last but not least, the Bitdefender portfolio is evolving continuously to meet the customers' needs and the product teams are gathering consistent feedback from this community, which will prove very valuable in their ongoing and future development plans.
Regarding this: At the very least, existing users who were anticipating this promised upgrade should be grandfathered in for the duration of their subscription before being asked to purchase yet another feature they'd already been sold. - You can contact the Support teams to ask if adjustments can be applied to your subscription.
You can get in touch with them by choosing one of the contact channels available here:
https://www.bitdefender.com/consumer/support/help/
I hope the information is helpful.
Regards,
Alex
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