---
layout: article
title: Why should I trust Bitwarden with my passwords?
categories: [security]
featured: true
popular: true
tags: []
---

1. Bitwarden is 100% open source software. All of our source code is hosted on [GitHub](https://github.com/bitwarden){:target="_blank"} and is free for anyone to review. Thousands of software developers follow Bitwarden's source code projects (and you can too!).
2. Bitwarden [is audited]({% link _articles/security/is-bitwarden-audited.md %}) by reputable third-party security auditing firms as well as independent security researchers.
3. Bitwarden does not store your passwords. Bitwarden stores encrypted versions of your passwords [that only you can unlock]({% link _articles/security/can-bitwarden-see-my-passwords.md %}).
Your sensitive information is encrypted locally on your personal device before ever being sent to our cloud servers.
4. Bitwarden has a reputation. Bitwarden is used by hundreds of thousands of individuals and businesses. If we did anything questionable or risky we would be out of business.

Still don't trust us? You don't have to. Open source is beautiful. You can easily host the entire Bitwarden stack yourself. You control your data. Learn more [here]({% link _articles/hosting/install-on-premise.md %}).
