Temporarily removing Desktop App Integration

dteare

We've got some news! A better way to unlock 🔓

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Hello everyone, 👋

I wanted to give you a heads up that in the next beta our beloved Desktop App Integration experiment will be temporarily removed. This means you will need to unlock 1Password for Mac separately from 1Password X, and Touch ID will no longer be available.

Starting in version 1.21.3 of 1Password X the Desktop App Integration experimental feature will be unavailable. We expect to add it back later this year for Mac, Windows, and Linux.

We’re building something even more reliable

This experimental feature is one of my favourites as it enables me to unlock with Touch ID on my MacBook Pro and my Apple Watch on my iMac Pro. Given how popular this feature is, why are we temporarily removing it?

The approach we used to implement Desktop App Integration was quite reliable overall and met our expectations early in the beta. It had its edge cases as expected and we thought we’d be able to work through those with the existing architecture.

While we managed to make things more reliable over time we were unable to make it rock solid enough for an official release. There were some parts of the messaging protocol that made this especially tricky so we returned to the drawing board to find a better way.

We now have an architecture that we believe will allow us to handle all the edge cases we discovered during the beta testing process, as well as allowing us to bring this feature to Windows and Linux.

Safari inline menu + Touch ID

While I hesitate to recommend switching browsers as they are a deeply personal choice, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the inline menu is now available in Safari. This means you’ll be able to enjoy one of the best features of 1Password X within Safari and you’ll be able to unlock using Touch ID or your Apple Watch.

If you were using Desktop App Integration then you already have the beta of 1Password for Mac so all you need to do is open Safari and enable 1Password in the extension preferences.

Wait, did you say Apple Watch?

Yes! Unlocking with Apple Watch is now possible in 1Password for Mac! If you have a Mac with a Secure Enclave (T1 or T2 chips, which most recent Macs have), you can enable this for your Apple Watch in the Preferences > Security window from within 1Password.

… and did you say Linux?

Yes! We now have a desktop app for Linux. 🎉 Give it a go and join us in the 1Password for Linux development preview forum to share your experiences.

Returning soon

If things go according to plan we should have a new beta of 1Password X later this year with Desktop App Integration reborn, along with betas for Mac, Windows, and Linux to pair with it. 🤞

Thanks again for being part of our beta testing family and helping us prove out experimental features like Desktop App Integration. We definitely have a killer feature here and we all look forward to it returning stronger than ever. 💪

stacecom

Bummer. I just spent the effort converting over to this. Why remove the feature before the replacement is available?

Ben

Sorry about that @stacecom. It's a fair question. I think to answer it we have to look at the purpose of having public beta versions available to begin with. The primary purpose is to help us spot bugs before we ship changes to everyone using 1Password. While Desktop App Integration was helpful to a good number of people even in its pre-release state... it definitely wasn't bug free and ready to be included in a stable release. There is a fair bit of troubleshooting that goes on in order to make it work right. If we were still working toward the goal of releasing Desktop App Integration as a feature, with the current implementation, that troubleshooting would be worth while. It helps us identify where pain points are so that we can correct them. But that isn't the situation. As Dave mentioned the intention is for this feature to be "reborn." Whatever bugs are there are going to be irrelevant, and so finding and working through them is counterproductive at this point. As they're not going to be fixed, continuing to stumble over them in the coming months doesn't add value. Our resources would be better spent working on the new solution.

Dave may have more to add, but that's how I see it. :+1: I hope that helps explain. I realize it is disappointing to have to take a step backwards. Personally I've been using DAI as part of my workflow essentially ever since we shipped the first builds with it. It is going to be an adjustment for me too. But I think we're ultimately doing the right thing by doing so, and we'll end up with a better final implementation as a result.

Ben

dteare

Hi @stacecom, 👋

That's a great question. Ben covered the most important aspect of our decision: it's really disheartening to everyone involved when an issue is reported and we know we can't fix it with the current design. Customers are disappointed when the issue can't be resolved and it's painful for us when we can't help.

The other part that is forcing our hand is on the technical side of things. Having two implementations of the same feature running concurrently is a tricky situation at the best of times. It's usually a mix of feature flags and release flags and while it sounds easy on the surface it often ends up being difficult in practice. In this case specifically it's even more challenging as the current implementation of Desktop App Integration is written in Golang and the new implementation is written in Rust. This required us to have two separate toolchains in our build and release process, which weighed things down greatly.

Interestingly enough we have been attempting to do exactly what you suggested over the previous several few months. Our hope was to be able to keep supporting the old while designing the new and then flipping a switch to enable the new implementation without missing a beat. It was a good goal and would have been incredible if we were able to pull it off. Ultimately it was taking longer than we wanted and during this time the experience of the existing implementation was becoming untenable for everyone involved.

Sometimes to go forward you must go back. And unlike in Game of Thrones, I thought we could provide a clearer description of the future than Quaithe gave Daenerys Targaryen. 😀

By taking a step back we can reset, regroup, and then build on the strengths of the beta process by once again experimenting with this feature once it is reintroduced later this year.

Thanks again for joining our beta and helping us bring cool features like this one to see the light of day.

Take care,
++dave;

stacecom

Yeah, understood. It solved a particularly vexing problem for me, in that I use all the OSes and Chrome is my browser (with syncing), so this allowed me to have 1PasswordX as my Chrome extension and behave well across all my devices (well, except Windows, a necessary evil). I was actually fond of how 1PasswordX behaved while synced with the desktop Mac app.

Still a great app and I look forward to what comes next. I've solved my immediate problem by turning off extension syncing on my linux hosts, so I have 1PasswordX on those, and 1Password desktop companion on the Mac/Win boxes.

I love that the Linux client is a thing and I'm trying it on the various boxes I use, too. Thanks for the great work!

Ben

I'm in the same spot, @stacecom so you're certainly not alone. We want a good solution here for selfish reasons as well as for wanting to provide an awesome experience for customers. :smile:

Thanks for the kind words about the Linux Development Preview. We're very excited to have an offering there.

Ben

uu_sharkey

This is incredibly disheartening. After finally rolling out 1Password across my team, I went through the added effort of either guiding people through the process of manually enabling betas or deploying the beta pkg, just so that this feature, which had been limited to beta for two years (if I am recalling correctly), could be used.

The ability to unlock 1Password X with Touch ID has been and is crucial to my team's 1Password adoption. I understand where you're coming from on the dev-front, but I strongly urge you to reconsider providing a build of the Chrome extension that supports the feature (albeit, with bugs/edge cases).

I love Safari, but my team relies on Chrome, and telling people to switch is not an option. This may actually have an impact on our team continuing to use 1Password Business moving forward. Again, incredibly upset by this, as I just rolled out 1Password a few months ago after first trying years ago when you released the Teams product.

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ag_yaron

Hey @uu_sharkey and @Samplex ,

We definitely hear you. It is tough having this feature removed after we got used to it. But I assure you, this is temporary, and this feature will be back and kicking in the future, not only in the beta channel but in the stable channel as well, which will make things a lot easier especially if you're managing a team and trying to guide them on how to set this up. It will be much easier.

Please bear with us while we break the foundations to make room and build something better and stronger :chuffed:
In the meantime, if Touch ID is a crucial part of your workflow, you can go back to using the old companion extension which connects to the desktop app by default: https://1password.com/browsers/

Or you can change your Master Password to a memorable password, which would make it quite easy to type in and unlock 1Password X: https://1password.com/password-generator/?type=memorable

You can also change 1Password X's auto-lock settings so it wouldn't lock every 10 minutes to make your workflow easier.
I hope you'll find at least one of these suggestions useful until we re-release this feature :)

gligoran

Hey.

I'm also incredibly sad to see the DAI be taken away (and for so long) as it worked really well for me. The benefit it brought to me was well worth the time it took to deal with a few little quirks that popped up from time to time.

Would it be possible to get a version of the Chrome extension that still has DAI and a version of the desktop app (MacOS) that would be fixed and wouldn't get auto-updated, so we could keep the functionality while you develop the new one on beta releases.

Ben

@gligoran

As a security focused company we really couldn't recommend using versions that aren't going to be updated. We absolutely understand the convenience this feature provides, which is why we want to make sure we get it right. My colleague Yaron posted about the companion extension just above... that version is available for Chrome and does have unlocking via Touch ID. If that feature is critical to your workflow, that would be the supported path forward until we can get DAI back into 1Password X.

I do apologize for the inconvenience. It wasn't an easy decision to make but we do feel it is the best decision when taking the long term success of 1Password X into consideration.

Ben

mcnahum

Like other people I'm frustrated to have it removed.
I was today again saying how I love 1Password since I can unlock it with my Apple Watch on my iMac Pro (who is becoming the main devices as working from home since weeks now...).
but let say I understand the way behind the removal, can I ask 2 questions:

1°/Any hope to have 1password X compatible with the Apple Watch unlock feature like the desktop application?
2°/Any chance you could me precise than it "end of the year" and give us hope with a progress of the new implementation?

in the meantime I will use something like 360 min. to lock and copy past my complex password from the desktop app to the browser one... :-<

jacarrara

Hi, I paid for 1 Password subscription because I love the touch ID unlock feature, so this is embarrassing. I hope it come back asap.

Ben

Hi @jacarrara

My colleague Yaron posted about the companion extension just above... that version is available for Chrome and does have unlocking via Touch ID. If that feature is critical to your workflow, that would be the supported path forward until we can get DAI back into 1Password X.

Ben

Ben

@mcnahum

Thanks for sharing your thoughts here.

1°/Any hope to have 1password X compatible with the Apple Watch unlock feature like the desktop application?

I don't think that is outside the realm of possibility for systems that have 1Password for Mac installed, once DAI returns.

2°/Any chance you could me precise than it "end of the year" and give us hope with a progress of the new implementation?

That's the best information I have at this point, however I would bet as we get closer additional information will become available.

in the meantime I will use something like 360 min. to lock and copy past my complex password from the desktop app to the browser one... :-<

You may wish to consider the companion extension for now: https://1password.com/downloads/mac/#browsers

I hope that's helpful. :)

Ben

landale

This is extremely frustrating. I understand this was a beta feature but it along with the other features of 1Password X are what made me move to 1Password in the first place. If this was truly a short term removal, like a couple weeks then I could live with the alternatives but it sounds like this could be 2-3 months. While I understand the need to move the beta program along without this feature would you consider maybe re-posting the last version of the extension with this feature working as a sort of depreciated version for those of us who still rely on this feature in the meantime?

Ben

@landale

I can absolutely empathize with the desire for that, but doing so would seemingly defeat the purpose here. I mentioned this above, but in case you missed it:

As a security focused company we really couldn't recommend using versions that aren't going to be updated. We absolutely understand the convenience this feature provides, which is why we want to make sure we get it right. My colleague Yaron posted about the companion extension just above... that version is available for Chrome and does have unlocking via Touch ID. If that feature is critical to your workflow, that would be the supported path forward until we can get DAI back into 1Password X.

I know this isn't welcome news in the short term, but hopefully it'll mean a better offering in the long term.

Ben

jacarrara

Hi @Ben , thank you for your response. I don't like the companion app, I prefer keep using 1password X. Do you have planned the return of DAI in the roadmap for this year?

rekoil

I would welcome an alpha version with this functionality, I don't care if it breaks now and again, it makes interacting with 1Password in the browser so so much easier.

The companion extension is, to be frank, terrible in comparison to 1Password X, so it's not really a solution that works for me.

Is it possible to install an older version of 1Password X Beta with DAI manually?

Ben

@jacarrara

Though we try to avoid setting firm deadlines (we'd rather under promise and over deliver) the plan is to have a beta of the new system before the end of the year.

If things go according to plan we should have a new beta of 1Password X later this year with Desktop App Integration reborn, along with betas for Mac, Windows, and Linux to pair with it. 🤞

We understand that this has become an important feature for many, including a number on our own team (myself included). We're very much looking forward to moving this along to a stable implementation.

Ben

Clear_Requirement

I agree with others that this is a huge disappointment. While the beta releases did at times interrupt the integration (and force a browser restart) and sometimes break the integration completely, it was working very smoothly for the past 1-2 months for me.

The companion app pales in comparison. I'm bummed there won't be a comparable solution for months.

Ben

Thanks for the feedback on this @Clear_Requirement. I too have been using DAI with a lot of success. That certainly wasn’t universally the experience though which is primarily why this feature hasn’t made it into a stable release. Hopefully the proof will be in the pudding and the end result of these efforts and associated disruption will be an overall better solution.

Ben

dteare

Thanks for all the feedback, everyone. I'm honoured to hear how much you all loved this feature. 🙏🏻

When I opened my MacBook Pro 16" today I had to unlock 1Password X manually which was terribly disappointing as the Touch ID button is sitting right here ready to help.

All I can say we are heavy users of 1Password and this hurts us as much as anyone. We'll do our best to bring it back as soon as possible. ❤️

++dave;

mcnahum

The companion app is not working for me as there is no support for EDGE chrominium on macOS ... and believe it or not it's a great browser (but with the crap name with a lot of legacy) ...

I would love to have a "freezed" version with the integration that we can keep on work devices for few month until the new version is there...

FriedEngineer

I cannot express how frustrated I am at this. I've been using it for well over a year now in beta with very few issues. I understand the rework (and the time that takes) but taking it away in the mean time with only a "by the end of the year" I find absolutely unacceptable. You've completely broken a workflow.

And on a seemingly related note, why can't it automatically trigger unlock when arrowing down in a login field? I wasn't aware this was connected to the desktop integration but they seem to have disappeared at the same time.

ag_yaron

Hey @mcnahum ,

Since the new Edge is Chromium based, you can install the companion extesnion from Chrome's webstore.

After you install it, you might need to copy a file from Chrome's supporting folder into Edge's, as described here: https://support.1password.com/could-not-connect/#if-you-use-chrome-canary-or-microsoft-edge

Once you're done, give both 1Password and the browser a restart. You can restart 1Password by right clicking the mini icon in your Mac's menu bar and select "Quit 1Password Completely", then relaunch 1Password.

If you encounter any issues afterwards, do feel free to email us all the details to support+extensions@1password.com and we'll gladly keep troubleshooting it there with you until we get your Edge up and running with the companion extesnion :chuffed:

ag_yaron

Hey @FriedEngineer ,

We really do know how much this feature is needed, all of us here are having a hard time without it! Rest assure we'll do whatever we can to bring it back as quickly as possible. Thank you so much for adding your voice here, we really appreciate it.

And on a seemingly related note, why can't it automatically trigger unlock when arrowing down in a login field? I wasn't aware this was connected to the desktop integration but they seem to have disappeared at the same time.

I'm not quite sure I understand what you're describing here. When you click on a field and 1Password is locked, it will show up a popup stating that you need to unlock it (by pressing the keyboard shortcut to bring up the Master Password screen). Are you asking why can't we show that Master Password screen right then and there?

FriedEngineer

I'm not quite sure I understand what you're describing here. When you click on a field and 1Password is locked, it will show up a popup stating that you need to unlock it (by pressing the keyboard shortcut to bring up the Master Password screen). Are you asking why can't we show that Master Password screen right then and there?

Sort of. Previously, if you were in a field and pressed the down arrow key, while 1Password was locked, it would automatically show the unlock prompt (either the password box or the TouchID prompt if that was on the computer). Then, a few weeks ago, it changed a bit. On the first press of the down arrow key it would show a small box with a blue button that said something to the effect of "Unlock 1Password". On the second press of the down arrow key it seemed to basically press that button for you (an unlock prompt would appear, as noted above). So it basically went from requiring a single press of the down arrow key to requiring two presses of the down arrow key. Now, as you noted, it just gives the message " Please unlock 1Password from the toolbar icon" and that's it.

tagleader

The companion extension is not acceptable - for the exact reasons you created 1Pass-X. I have converted all my Macs to 1PasswordX, and one has TouchID, none have the T2 chipset and I can't afford to upgrade them all for the long awaited Apple Watch support, unfortunately...

I would rather roll back to the previous beta extension and stop auto update while I wait.

I work in SW development and we support 2 trains of our product, where we essentially don't fix bugs in the old version, nor carry features forward, but we don't just disable the feature on the running train and surprise the customers on upgrade. Customers can freeze at whatever version they want - especially in a 'beta' phase of a new feature.

Please gives us instructions to freeze at last weeks 1Password-X Beta extension.

chrism229

I'm a Firefox user and I guess I'll be going back to the older extension, as the only reason I got into the betas was to use TouchID. My master password is............very long(!) and typing it out each time isn't going to be easy. So back to 1Password Extension (desktop app required) until you bring TouchID back again.

cryptochrome

I am in absolute disagreement with the decision to remove the feature. It's good and ok that you're working on something new, but ripping out something that has become a core feature of many people's workflows is awful decision-making. Keep it in the beta until you are ready to roll out the replacement! Imagine Apple pulling Safari from macOS and iOS because they are working on Safari Next Gen. I don't often use this word to describe my dissatisfaction, but this is "unacceptable". I guess I'll go back to Dashlane.