Curious question about options for installing Safari browser extension
I'm really enjoying playing around with 1Password 8 so far. I had a question about installing the Safari extension.
With 1P7 the Safari extension was bundled with the app. But it looks like with 1P8 this is going to change and require installing the Safari extension from the App Store. While it was nice having the extension bundled with the app, it's not a major issue needing to install the extension separately, which was the only way to get it in the past. However, the App Store is blocked on my work computer. We are allowed to install 1Password, either manually or through an internal company tool for approved applications. I think that this is managed through Jamf tools. Will the Safari extension be able to be installed through tools such as Jamf or manually or is the App Store going to be the only option? I believe that our I.T. support downloads a version from the App Store and provides it through our internal tools, so I assume that that would still work, but was just curious so wanted to ask.
Looking forward to what is still in store for 1Password 8. :)
1Password Version: 8.4.0 (80400052)
Extension Version: 2.1.4
OS Version: macOS 12.0.1
Comments
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Hi @donnywdavis ,
The new Safari extension is a Safari Web Extension, rather than a Safari App Extension. I realize to most people that distinction doesn’t mean much, but the rules for distribution are different. Safari Web Extensions can only be distributed through the Mac App Store at this time. This is why we have a "1Password For Safari" app in the app store - to contain the extension.
So this begs the question, "Why did 1Password implement a Safari Web Extension rather than a Safari App Extension?" The main reason is that the architecture of a Safari Web Extension is more similar to the architecture of extensions for other browsers. This allows us to streamline development and offer features (such as Privacy and FastMail alias integration, to name a couple) to all browsers much sooner.
I realize that this puts you in a predicament. At present, I can't promise that we'll be able to distribute it outside the App Store. We'll consider your feedback and will watch for any changes in the Safari Web Extension distribution rules.
Regards,
Kevin0 -
Hi @donnywdavis,
Just to add on to what Kevin mentioned above, while as it currently stands, 1Password for Safari is only distributed through the App Store, your IT administrators should be able to add it to Jamf Self Service much the same way they add other Mac App Store apps to Jamf Self Service: Mac App Store Apps - Jamf Pro Administrator's Guide | Jamf
Jack
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Hey @ag_kevin and @jack.platten. Sorry for the late reply. Thanks for the insights into the extension differences. I was thinking that the separate extension would be a bit better as it allows for easier maintenance without needing to have an entire app release. I was hoping that the Jamf self service would be able to accommodate this, but didn't want to assume that the extensions worked the same as apps in that tool. Thank y'all again and keep up all the amazing work on 1P8. :)
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