What is a typical use for the desktop application?

Ask the Bitwarden Community
#1

When reading A Quick Guide to Bitwarden Client Applications, I see for desktop applications the following:

Desktop applications provide a native experience for Windows, MacOS, and Linux, and can be useful for areas where web browsing is not part of the typical workflow.

What would that be? The ability to automatically fill-in entries for other native applications (such as, say, Spotify)?

They are also ideal for storing and referencing other types of sensitive information besides passwords, such as credit card and bank account numbers.

How is that different from having them in the vault available from the web browser, or in the extension? One would in the vast majority of cases use these information on a web page anyway (so it would either be available directly from the browser extension, or the vault - in which case it is equivalent to go to the desktop app)

#2

We get a lot of feedback on the Desktop app for users that may not have web browsers enabled on their device (i.e. Windows servers, etc).

The desktop app is tied into the OS and hardware activities more than the Browser extension, for instance:

  • Can lock on system idle/restart and are not locked to the context/memory of a browser window or instance
  • Can use native Biometric functions
  • UI is persistent so you don’t have to use the ‘pop-out’ window if you’re working with files and/or many items to copy/paste.

Also, the Desktop apps will be bridges to functionality like Biometrics for the browser extensions, too. :metal:

Overall just a way to access data that is a little more in-line with a traditional application.

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