Watchtower logins removed from view as soon as password is edited

khoi

Hi, I really appreciate Watchtower but the UX flow is a little counter-intuitive.

To change a password for a Watchtower item, I have to go into edit mode. Once I've created the password, it's my instinct to hit Save before copying the password to my clipboard.

However, when I hit Save, the login then immediately disappears from view entirely since it no longer matches the criteria for Watchtower items. I'm then left viewing the remaining Watchtower items when my current task of editing the previous item is still not necessarily complete. So if I need to make any additional changes or even need more info from that login, I then have to manually find it again.

A more ideal solution would be to keep the login visible as a Watchtower item after the edits have been saved, and until the user switches to a different tab/view, away from Watchtower. The next time the user returns to the Watchtower view, that item could then be removed.

Thanks!

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1Password Version: 7.6
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: macOS 10.15.5
Sync Type: 1Password

ag_ana

Hi @khoi!

I'm then left viewing the remaining Watchtower items when my current task of editing the previous item is still not necessarily complete.

I was about to file this as an internal issue, but then I realized that perhaps I understand the reason for this behavior. Once you edit a Login item that was flagged by Watchtower, and you fix the specific issue (perhaps because the 1Password was weak), it makes sense for 1Password to remove that item from the Watchtower list immediately. If you need to make more edits to that item, you might want to hold off saving the changes, since 1Password does not know whether you are really done with the edits or not at this point.

I think it also makes sense, if you are in the Watchtower section, to keep you there after editing one item, in case you want to go through all the Watchtower alerts one after the other: if this was what you were trying to do, making the change you suggested would mean that you would have to go back to the Watchtower section every time after editing an item, which would not be ideal either.

I think both options make sense, but I am not sure if there is anything we can do here that would make everyone happy :/

khoi

I agree that it makes sense to keep the user in Watchtower after editing and saving an item. But to suddenly change the item that the user is viewing is quite unexpected. Hitting Save should commit the state of the edited item, but in Watchtower, Save effectively closes the item, which is really not expected. So it’s not quite a matter of keeping everyone happy but of making the app behave in a predictable, reliable manner.

My solution of keeping the item in Watchtower might not be exactly the right one, I admit. Another approach would be to keep the edited and saved item in the right pane while being removed from the Watchtower pane at left. When the user clicks on another Watchtower item, that first item can then disappear in a logical manner.

At any rate, I really do think this is an issue that should be looked into because it’s disruptive to the flow of editing many Watchtower items. I found myself repeatedly editing an item, hitting save, then having to go search for that item, copy or further edit the info, then switching back to Watchtower. It really feels like there’s got to be a more elegant flow!

Ben

Thanks for taking the time to share your perspective on this, @khoi. I'll suggest to the team that we take another look at this to make sure the assumptions we made when originally implementing it still make sense. :+1:

Ben

khoi

Each of us only wants to be heard! Thank you @Ben and @ag_ana!

ag_ana

You are welcome @khoi! If you have any other questions, please feel free to reach out anytime.

Have a wonderful day :)

sriggins

I came here to report this, so I will +1 this. The entire process is a bit problematic, more than stated. Here is how it went on the Mac (1Password 7, Version 7.6 (70600005) 1Password Store)

1. I see a site. ABC.com is compromised
2. I go to the site to change the password
3. It asks for a new password.
4. I edit the password, generating a new one
5. The entry I am editing is removed from under me

ok this is the reported issue. It should have left me on ABC.com's entry, and changed the banner at the top to a green "This password is no longer compromised" or something like that. But it goes on:

6. I went and found ABC.com's entry
7. I copied the new password and pasted into the ABC.com new password/confirmation fields and saved
8. ABC.com then asked for the old passoword
9. Being 1Password savvy, I knew to click "View Password History" (these buttons look terrible in Dark Mode on Big Sur, btw, just a FYI)

the problem with 9 is that my non-tech family do not know to do this, know to scroll down to find it, etc. What I would do is rethink the entire process of changing a password.

I think this needs to be an actual wizard (ugh that term) or helper. For example, when I go to 1Password, instead of the edit/generate cycle, I'd rather have a button that says "Change this password for ABC.com" and that opens a window or new section or something. This new area has:

1. A generate new password button, that has the normal options
2. A copy old password button, that automatically copies the last known password.

In addition, when tapping "generate new password" if this button was used within the last 15 minutes, an alert asks if they are sure they need to do this (you could opt out of this in settings) I see family members generate so many useless passwords because they get out of the flow or are confused about what is going on.

Passwords stink, and I think 1Password could go farther into making the experience much, much better.

ag_ana

@sriggins:

Thank you for the feedback! To make sure I understand the procedure that you are following: you are currently generating a new password inside the 1Password for Mac desktop app, and then you are copying it on the website form, correct?

If this is indeed what I doing, may I recommend using the 1Password browser extension to change your password directly? You can do so directly on the website, and you would not have to open the password history to find the previous password, the browser extension will do that for you ;)

Saving, filling, and changing your passwords

sriggins

Yeah, I was starting the process in the Max app because it mentioned that I had a compromised password and that I should update it.

I think this is where the helper could start and come into play, even if it just has detailed instructions about the best process for updating the compromised password.

Ben

Gotcha. Thank you for clarifying. :)

Ben