Factors Influencing The Adoption of Secure Password Management Tools on College Students Based on Technology Acceptance Model

This research explores what drives college students in Indonesia to adopt password managers, using an enhanced Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The study incorporates factors such as ease of use, usefulness, readiness, awareness, motivation, trust, security, and privacy to better understand user behavior. Data was gathered from 386 participants and analyzed using Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The results show that trust plays a key role in deciding whether users adopt password managers, with the highest path coefficient of 0.543, followed by perceived security at 0.513. The modified TAM model explains 61.2 percent of variance in actual password manager usage. Among the participants, 43.3 percent have used password managers for more than twelve months, while 42.5 percent reported usage between six to twelve months. Trust demonstrates the largest effect size of 0.496 on actual usage, while perceived security shows a moderate effect of 0.184 on trust building. Building upon gaps in prior research—namely the limited focus on Indonesian college students—this study emphasizes the need for robust security and privacy features to foster user confidence. By targeting a tech-savvy yet underexamined demographic, the findings also highlight the importance of educational initiatives to raise awareness of password manager benefits. In doing so, the study provides valuable guidance for developers, educators, and policymakers, thus bridging the research gap on password manager adoption in Indonesia. The results offer both academic and practical implications, paving the way for future enhancements in secure password management solutions.