British Gas is reviewing its policy of blocking password managers from accessing its customer website following censure from the cybersecurity industry.
The policy was discovered in an exchange in which Twitter user Ben Woodward asked the company to alter code on its website to accommodate LastPass, a password manager for web browsers and smartphones.
Responding to this request British Gas said that "as a business we’ve chosen not to have the compatibility with password managers."
The conversation provoked criticism from other users on the social network, with many suggesting that users were more likely to reuse passwords or come up with a shorter, weaker password as a result of the policy.
Commenting in a personal capacity Matt Cheetham, lead iOS developer at 3 Sided Cube, said: "That’s a pretty poor decision. Password managers improve security, they don’t hinder it."
As a result of the complaints British Gas swiftly decided to review the policy.
In a statement, the company told CBR: "We’re always open to listening to views on subjects like digital security, which is of paramount importance to us.
"Based on the feedback we’re going to take another look at our approach to password managers. We’ll let you know what we decide."
Password managers allow users to create multiple passwords across different sites whilst only having to remember one master password.
Using them combats password reuse, a common mistake for computer users that can lead to multiple accounts being attacked after a single website or service is breached.
However a study last year from the University of California, Berkeley, found critical vulnerabilities in a host of common password managers.
"Our study suggests that it remains to be a challenge for the password managers to be secure," the research stated at the time, as reported on CBR.
