LogMeIn plans to spin out password management tool LastPass as a standalone company, it announced Tuesday. With the change, LastPass is promising that customers will receive enhancements on an “accelerated timeline” next year. “With a team solely dedicated to its continued innovation and growth, [LastPass] will be able to deliver even more strongly for users,” a spokesperson said.
LastPass, which LogMeIn purchased for $125 million in 2015, is a popular password management tool; it’s used by “more than 30 million users and 85,000 businesses worldwide,” according to LogMeIn, and “the significant majority” of its business is corporate customers. LogMeIn’s emphasis on LastPass’ corporate use in its press release could suggest the standalone company is going to focus more on that audience.
The change arrives almost a year after LastPass added significant restrictions to its free tier. LastPass now limits free users to only viewing and managing passwords on mobile devices or your computer. To access your passwords on all your devices, you need to be on a paid plan. If you’re still on LastPass’ free plan and want to move to another password manager, we’ve got a guide you can follow right here. LogMeIn has also been criticized for tripling the price of LastPass Premium between 2017 and 2019, though a spokesperson tells The Verge there are “no plans” to change LastPass’ pricing.
The shift is taking place nearly two years after LogMeIn agreed to sell itself to two private equity firms for $4.3 billion.
