Hi – I’m new to bitwarden. I just put in my email address to get started, after downloading password manager. The message I got back is: a waving hand with the words “welcome back.” This freaked me out. I don’t have a bitwarden account and the email address I used is relatively new. Is someone using my email address for their bitwarden account? Im not sure how to think about this? Can someone please help? Thank you.
@sun Welcome to the forum!
And a bit more detail would be appreciated… with just the title, it’s hard to guess what you mean by that.
@sun Welcome back to the forum! 
@Nail1684 It is evidently a reference to the master password input page in the login flow, which looks like this for everybody (for old users, new users, and fake users):
[The UI is comparable on the Web Vault, Desktop app, and browser extension; I have not checked the mobile apps.]
@sun Could you let us know, if the confusion about that was your only issue?
The Android app dialog is indeed different:
Hi - thanks so much for your reply.
I did describe more in my original post - not sure where it went?
No matter, here is what I wrote: I’m brand new to bitwarden, and in setting things up was asked to put in an email address. I did so and that was the waving hand appeared along with the words, welcome back. It freaked me out, for two reasons, one, I’ve never had a bitwarden account and two, this is a newer email address for me. It has made me wonder if someone else has taken my email address and opened a bitwarden account?
And, just to clarify, the screenshot that another member suggested, is not the screen I was on, I was on the new user set up screen.
Can you please help me understand why I would get a welcome back message as a brand new user?
Thanks so much.
Ha, just found it (I could have thought of that earlier, honestly) – just edited your original post 
(it was marked as “hidden text”)
Okay great. I was re-reading the other posts related to my original post: I’m using this on an apple computer, and through the website, not an app. I was prompted to add these as tags when I created the post, thus I didn’t put this in the original query.
I just created (and deleted) a new BW account via the browser / web vault. I didn’t see such a screen (but in creation, I had a not-ending loading spinner, which I eventually “circumvented” with refreshing the site – maybe that’s why I didn’t see that screen?! PS: maybe I’ll try it again…).
With which of the BW apps – and on what device – did you try to create the new BW account where you saw that “Welcome back” screen?
Hm. You can easily test this by using that same email address to create a new BW account. That will only work, when there is no account yet. (though beware: BW has to distinct server regions – US/.com and EU/.eu – so, theoretically, if you really want to know if someone created an account with your email address, you have to test this on both server regions – and subsequently delete the other account, when you could create one on both server regions).
One thing: if an account existed, it probably exists for a longer time then. I have to look that up (and will add it later here), but for maybe 1-2 years, you can only create a BW account with email verification, so unless someone also entered your email account… but before that, one could create a BW account without email verification. So, that was a possibility back then (to create a BW account for an email address without even having access to that email address).
EDIT: Ah, the email verification requirement for account creation was added with Release 2024.11.0:
I’m setting up password manager. I didn’t go further with the process, so I haven’t actually set up the account yet, no password, because I was so thrown by the welcome back to my in putting my email address.
can one still set up an account on password manager without having to use an email account?
Okay, so, do you have the link how to get there?
You always had to use an email address for account creation. Since the 2024.11.0 release, it also has to be verified, before you even can set the master password.
yes, I do. thanks for explaining about the email address for account creation. So, just to clarify, in your mind, I shouldn’t worry about that hand wave and welcome back, just proceed and set up the new account?
Could you share the link, so that we can try to reproduce?
Well, to be comprehensive, here the full answer:
-
Yes, you probably don’t have to worry. The most likely explanation is indeed, what @grb wrote before (in this post).
-
The only thing that is indeed confusing to me now: you said your screen looked different from what @grb posted. – That’s why the link (or a screenshot, if you made one) would be helpful, to verify if it was indeed just that same login screen where every email address gets a “Welcome back”…
-
But, as written before: if you now really try to create your Bitwarden account with that “same” email address, you’ll see if you get the verification email or not. – I just tried it with my own Bitwarden account, and either I have a lag at the moment, or it seems, if you enter an email address that’s already in use, you don’t even get the verification email… (which honestly, is also a bit surprising – maybe it would be better to get an info that someone tried to create an account with your email address?!).
PS: To also double-check that – you can create a Bitwarden account
-
either via the main site: https://bitwarden.com (–> “Get Started Free”)
-
or via the Bitwarden web vault links: https://vault.bitwarden.com for the US server or https://vault.bitwarden.eu for the EU server (–> "New to Bitwarden? Create account)
No, you should not worry about it. If you enter any email address into the login screen and click “Continue” or press Enter, then you will see the “Welcome back!” message — you will see this whether you already have an account with that email address or not, and even if you enter an email address that is not a real email (or even a valid email address, like 0@0).
okay, thanks for all of your help, I really appreciate it and I’ll give it a go. - so I tried to post this yesterday but got an auto message saying that, as a new user, I had reached my limit on daily posts.
Lastly, so I know that I understand this application, in a nutshell: bitwarden is a program that generates secure passwords and then securely stores those passwords for a user. A user can also add a 2 step authenticator from bitwarden.
You are not wrong, but others would have a different understanding/description of what Bitwarden’s Password Manager is, and does.
Personally, I might have phrased it as:
Bitwarden’s Password Manager allows secure storage and sharing of sensitive information, including login credentials (i.e., usernames, passwords, two-factor authentication codes, and passkeys), credit/bank cards, personal data (i.e., contact information, as well as ID numbers such as passport or driver’s license numbers), text notes, and files; in addition, Bitwarden can generate secure login credentials, and securely autofill login credentials, card information, as well as personal data.
Many thanks for this full explanation, grb!