App Reviewamendation: Safe In Cloud

This was originally going to be a review, but it ended up sounding like a recommendation. So. There’s that. Like the title? No? Damn.

…anyways, back in June of this year I wrote about password security, and how one might protect oneself from account compromises. Today, I’ve edited that post to include another great app for Android that helps further that cause, and it goes by the name Safe In Cloud. Do note however, that this app can be used for storing much more than passwords. You can store information about your car like what size tires it uses, insurance information, WiFi logins, or anything else you need to remember. It’s great for keeping all of your “need to knows” in one neat little place.

To get a sense of where I’m coming from, allow me to share some back story. I used just about every password app on the Android market, and most of them are flawed in one way or another (ugly and dysfunctional user experiences were the heart of the problem for the vast majority). The last one I used was mSecure, and I used it for a very long time until I became fed up with the user experience and started to worry about backing up my passwords in the event of getting a new phone, since I read some stories involving the problems people had with importing their backup file. It seemed that the only solution would be to sync it with the desktop app on the computer. Well, turns out the price tag for the desktop app was $19.99. The app itself costs $4.99 (though I bought it for $0.99 during a sale), so together that’s $25. Now, I don’t know about you, but charging a customer for an app and then expecting them to pay an even higher price to receive what I consider to be required functionality, is ludicrous. I mean $4.99 is impulse territory, but $19.99 for what many could assume would come bundled with the app (especially due to some relatively tricky wording in the apps description at the time)? Unacceptable. So I went looking around for a new app, to see if there was something better before throwing more money at mSecure.

The rest is history; I found Safe In Cloud, and I definitely appreciate the pricing route that the developer took with it. It makes it easy to recommend this app’s $1.99 price tag. Not just that, but the 100% functional desktop beta bears the ever-extravagant price of FREE. Note that I am unaware of the developers pricing intentions with regards to the desktop version upon full release, but if it’s $4.99 or less (or remains free), then I’ll be more than happy to pay the price to use it. I’m not cheap, and I realize that neither $1.99 nor $4.99 is a whole lot of money, but I am a firm believer that if you build a great app and people recommend it enough, then the sheer number of users will make up the difference. This is me doing my part, and I don’t like to recommend crap, so don’t take that lightly! Hopefully, if the developer decides to monetize the app a bit more, maybe he might consider doing something that wouldn’t impact normal users, such as–for example–a fee for early beta access, or additional icons (more on that below, it’s a customization option). All I know is that I hope the path taken is not one aimed at screwing users, as I feel strongly about what I believe to be ethical or at least moral (which explains 90% of my dislike for Apple! The way they choose to operate and the manner in which they conduct themselves… you can be a profitable business without abusing people financially).

Quit with the rambling and get on with it!

Alright, alright. Let’s get back to what makes Safe In Cloud the best password app around.

“This is by far the most functional, frequently updated, loaded with features, most visually pleasing and easy to use password app of them all–and I’ve tried a LOT.”

That quote is from none other than yours truly and it represents this review in a nutshell, but allow me to break that down and elaborate on it just a bit.

What app do you use? What’s your favorite? Disagree with something I said? Sound off in the comments below!

Screenshots incoming!