LastPass could be the Galaxy S5’s fingerprint sensor killer app

The fingerprint scanner on the Galaxy S5 was not received with great enthusiasm by users and critics, but with added functionality from third-party developers, the feature could become quite compelling.

Following the launch of PayPal’s integration with the Galaxy S5 fingerprint scanner, the password management service LastPass announced that S5 users will be able to log into the app – and, by extension, into any app or service whose password is stored with LastPass – with a simple swipe of their finger.

LastPass lets you save passwords for websites and Android apps onto its secure cloud; instead of having to memorize and recall unique passwords for every service, you only need to recall and type the password to LastPass. That’s still a small hassle that the fingerprint scanner integration will solve, starting with the latest update of LastPass for Android.

There’s a small catch – the Galaxy S5 fingerprint integration is only available through the LastPass Premium service, but, at just $1/month, it’s a very small price to pay for the convenience.

The promise of doing away with most passwords (LastPass can’t log you in some web apps, for instance) is extremely exciting, at least until better options come along. With LastPass on board, the Galaxy S5’s sensor turns from a somewhat gimmicky feature of questionable necessity to a truly value adding function that’s pretty much unique on mobile devices.

Check out LastPass for Android in the Play Store.