Turn off auto backup in 1Password 4 [Not an option however notifications can be turned off]

rp1
rp1
Community Member
edited February 2014 in Mac

Is it possible? The messages are irritating and not necessary.

Comments

  • Hey @rp1,

    Automatic backups cannot be turned off. AgileBits obviously feels that backups are very important (and I agree).

    However, if it's just the notifications that are bothering you, they can be turned off. Go to System Preferences > Notifications and find 1Password mini from the list. Change the alert style to None and uncheck all the checkboxes. Then you won't receive any backup messages anymore.

    Hope that helps! :)

  • rp1
    rp1
    Community Member

    I understand a backup if something changes or is updated, but almost daily regardless? Hmmm....don't recall my previous version doing that

  • Megan
    Megan
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @rp1,

    I hope that @JasperP's tip to turn off notifications helps reduce your irritation here. We certainly don't mean to annoy you, but we do feel that frequent backups are essential when dealing with such important data! I can't tell you how many times I have helped a user restore their database from a backup - these can be invaluable. :)

  • kop48
    kop48
    Community Member

    I would love to see these NOT be notifications - notifications imply there's an action on the user's part. I don't think normal behaviour should be surfaced to the user - rather the notification should be shown in the backup failed.

  • Unknown
    edited February 2014
    This content has been removed.
  • This content has been removed.
  • sjk
    sjk
    1Password Alumni

    Thanks for your feedback on 1Password backup notifications, @kop48. I understand how you'd prefer to be notified when they fail rather than succeed and have added your comments to the request in our tracker for that option.

  • sjk
    sjk
    1Password Alumni

    Hi Jim,

    Thanks for your vote for an option to adjust the number the number of 1Password backups that get stored. Noted. :)

    The ~/Library/Application Support/1Password folder is used by 1Password 3. Before removing it I'd make sure nothing is still accessing anything in it (e.g. with keychain syncing) and keep backups of it around at least for awhile just in case it turns out something there is necessary.

  • Robs
    Robs
    Community Member

    I think you all know the Apple quote: "It just works".
    So in my opinion if something works as expected it should not "annoy" the user. 1Password on the Mac always displays a Message that it successfully made a new automatic backup.
    I would prefer that it only notifies me when it was NOT able to do a new automatic backup, or at least an option to disable that notification.
    I know I could disable notifications for 1P at all, but maybe there are some other notifications I want to see from 1P (although I haven't seen any other notifications from 1P yet, so I'm not even sure there are any other notifications).

    Love 1P, so keep working ;)

  • sjk
    sjk
    1Password Alumni
    edited September 2014

    Hey @Robs, Thanks for the 1Password love. :)

    I've appended your comment to a related topic. @kop48 made essentially the same suggestion and I don't mind if you share my reply to him. :)

    Your feedback/vote on this is now in our tracker. With these types of success/failure outcomes I rarely ever want to see success notifications and nearly always want to see failure notifications.

  • Robs
    Robs
    Community Member

    I guess you guys like notifications. So I set down and came up with some new notifications for 1Password. I think they would be really helpful.

    Sorry, just for fun ;)

  • Megan
    Megan
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @Robs,

    Thanks so much for adding your thoughts here! Although I hope you don't mind if we don't implement all of your suggestions. ;)

  • Smoof
    Smoof
    Community Member

    I strongly agree with Jim. Yet I’ll go further. I loathe 1Password’s 4 for Mac’s forced automatic daily backups. Its extremely annoying considering that 1Password 3 for Mac gave users complete control over automatic backups - if enabled at all. Is it too much to ask that Agilebits simply return a feature the software already had? I just want it back!

    Agilebits had a fully controllable backup feature in 1Password 3 and with the upgrade to 4 they removed it. Here’s an image and link to that version’s preferences:

    1Password 3 for Mac Automatic Data File Backup preferences:
    http://help.agilebits.com/1Password3/preferences_backup.html

    So, just to be crystal clear, when I bought 1Password 3 for Mac I had complete and total control over its backup features. I could quickly and easily integrate it with whatever means of backup I wanted. Not what was convenient for Agilebits support reps. Not what made it easier for Agilebits programmers to code. It was truly my preference and it allowed you (a completely different user) to set your own. That is the way great software should be. It gives options.

    You decided if it could only make a backup if the database changed, only once a day or week, keep no more than 3 backup files so they didn’t take up too much space, perform a backup right now, or even turn the whole darn backup feature off entirely. Plus everything in between. Again, the way great software should be. It gives options.

    By upgrading to 1Password 4 for Mac, not only was its fully controllable backup removed, the darn thing will backup daily. It treats you like you’re idiot. It body tackles your hard drive by pumping out relatively sized duplicates of its backup file every chance it gets, with no regard for how many copies and how large that resulting folder could balloon to over time. Thats something Apple, Google and Microsoft couldn’t get away with if they tried. Don’t see the big picture yet? Here’s a real example.

    Let’s say your 1Password 4 for Mac database is only 20MB like mine. Well, thanks to Agilebits, their software will automatically make a backup of 20MB every day its on and there’s nothing to prevent it from doing so. Hey, 20MB doesn’t sound like much?

    That mere 20MB database will create a backup folder of 1.2GB in just two months, 3.6GB in half a year, and a monstrous 7.3GB over the year. Every day my Mac is on, 1Password 4 for Mac will drop kick another 20MB file into the backup folder so you just multiply the size of the file by how many days your Mac is running. Chances are your database is bigger than 20MB so its realistic your backup folder will consume over 9GB before 2015.

    Sure, every week like clockwork I manually delete everything in that backup folder. The point is before version 4 I didn't have to. At times I imagine what some might say about 1Password a year from now: "Love the software. Just one problem. Its about a 40MB download. Extracts to take still under 100MB. Runs smooth, very useful. Just set aside 10GB of hard drive space for all those darn backups it keeps. Your second year using it, you need 20GB."

    I’m hoping posting this only adds one more person to the growing list of users that want controllable backup. Just as we already had with version 3.

    If its so critical for Agilebits reps to restore user’s database then you can still release a patch or upgrade that returns controllable backup. Just make it default to backing it up daily, without regard for number of copies or size of the resultant folder, yet provide an option for all of us to change it as best fits our choices.

    Again, you already had the feature with version 3. So I’m going to have a hard time listening to anyone explaining why it can’t be done with 4.

  • Megan
    Megan
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @Smoof,

    Please understand that the decision to have automatic backups in a standard location is not meant to make our lives easier in support, but to protect users and their data. As we've mentioned before, these backups have been lifesavers for many of our customers. With 1Password 3, we did unfortunately see cases where users had customized their backup folder location in such a way that 1Password wasn't able to write the backups (for example, if they were backing up to an external drive which became disconnected.) We want to make sure that the backup process here is simple and worry-free for users who may not be as savvy as yourself. When dealing with such important data, we think it's far better to err on the side of caution and have too much protection than not enough.

    I'd also like to point out that your backup folder will not keep growing into infinity - only the 30 most recent are kept. You don't need to worry about backups consuming all of the space on your hard drive. :)

    That being said, we have been hearing comments like yours from some of our more power-users, and the request has been made to restore some backup options. I'd be more than happy to add your vote to this request.

  • Smoof
    Smoof
    Community Member

    Hey, Megan,

    Thanks for addressing my concerns and explaining more about the situation. I appreciate it. Btw, I otherwise love 1Password 4 for Mac. My post may seem hostile but it wasn’t intended to be. Its actually sheer frustration. Unfortunately, the reasons you’ve given add fuel to that frustration.

    Please add my vote to the request for restoring some backup options. I would be extremely happy with just one option - just to turn the darn thing off. More options, such as those from version 3, would be a dream come true.

    If I originally came across 1Password 4 for Mac, instead of version 3, I wouldn’t have bought it. Its a deal breaker! You’re free to look up my forum email and confirm its listed as a paid user. I assure you I won’t pay for another version of 1Password for Mac until it has backup options. Yes, backup options are that important to me.

    Megan, for me its somewhat of an ego or personal, perhaps conceptual issue. Its what your software is doing and how that, in and of itself, goes against the number one reason I (and most power-users) buy any software, which is:

    Within the scope of what the software is designed to do, it only does what I tell it to, when I tell it to. Likewise, if it creates a file or a database or a backup, it puts it exactly where I tell it to, when I tell it to. I don’t spend more time working for the software (dealing with updates, support, re-adjusting preferences, reading manuals and watching how-to videos on youtube) than it does actually working for me. It makes my life easier. Using it shouldn’t become a second job. I shouldn't have to babysit, wondering on a daily basis what the hell its doing.

    No matter how great software is it must obey my eternal digital rule that its never the only software on my computer. That means it has to play nice with all my other software and it has to adjust to how I want it to fit in with my digital lifestyle. I don’t adjust to it. It must adjust to me. If it doesn’t do all this, I don’t buy it.

    Case in point, thanks for explaining 1Password 4 for Mac won’t grow its backup folder to infinity. That’s better but not by much. Its still constantly saving 30 duplicate files to the same folder, which amounts to 30 times the actual file size. Megan, to be crystal clear, your software is backing up useless duplicates of the full size of a database on a daily basis, even when nothing has changed! That’s digitally obscene!

    A user can look at the file size of their database and multiply by 30 - which is now the usual total backup size they carry just to be protected. My 20MB database will take up 600MB. Those with 100MB now lose 3GB of their hard drive space. Heaven help those with a huge database stuffed with tons of pictures, files, pdf, and more, maybe 500MB, so they lose 15GB of space. What?! Let’s check. Okay, that’s accurate too, because its simply the size of their database (500MB) times the past 30 backups they’ll have in a month (30 days). That 15GB is more precious if its on a laptop.

    Let’s see Apple, Google, or Microsoft try your forced backup tactics lol.

    Use iTunes? Hey, good idea, to protect your purchased movies, music, and apps, let’s save the entire database as a separate backup in another backup folder - every day your computer is on and you can’t turn that feature off. Got 2GB of movies, music, and apps? No problem, each day its also backed up again, even if nothing’s changed, just in case you need to restore it. Sure, over a month that backup folder is now taking up 60GB in case you want to recover just 2GB of media, but drives are cheap, who cares. My iTunes folder, complete with iPhone backups, is 22GB. Megan, it makes sense to you that there should be a separate iTunes backup folder on my Mac that takes up 660GB? Just in case I need to restore iTunes? 660GB is accurate, as its the size of 22GB times 30 backups. Doesn't sound too appealing, does it? Well, its exactly the same thing your software is doing.

    Use Google drive’s free 15GB of online storage? Then watch out, everything you put on it is now duplicated 30 times and stored in an online backup folder. So that single short 200MB video of your kids birthday unwrapping their best present now takes up 6GB of your free 15GB storage. All your emails, maybe its about 350MB, now takes up 10.5GB just to keep proper backups. Oh, darn, wait, between your emails and a single video you’re already over the free 15GB limit. If you have 4GB of birthday videos, you better pay for their 200GB option as you’ll lose 120GB just in backups.

    Use Microsoft Office? Its joining the band, now saving 30 backup copies of everything in its backup folder too. All your presentations, emails, spreadsheets, and more, just add it all up and multiply by 30. You know, just in case you ever need to restore it. For power users and businesses that could easily take up 7GB. Enjoy your backup folder of around 210GB. Have hard drives really become that cheap?

    Apple offers a great backup feature called Time Machine. All you need is an external hard drive. Most just set it and forget it. I have one. It makes constant backups of everything on my Mac. That is, everything I want it to. Every hour, day, week, and month. But the point is, it only makes backups of changes. I’ve told mine to ignore 1Password’s backup folder. Its already backing up the actual database. I also have SpiderOak, which stores backups online yet only takes up online space for actual changes.

    Your software had that option, to only make backups when there were actual changes. Now it doesn’t. How is that an improvement?

    With all that said, again out of frustration, my solution is quick and easy. I just won’t buy the next version unless it has a controllable backup feature. Its extremely annoying babysitting your software, which loves to pester my hard drive with useless duplicates, every single day, non stop. Constantly reminding me why I have such high standards and strict requirements for software.

    Darn it! Its done it again! Another flaming copy! Sigh. Let’s delete 51MB of useless duplicates. I’m so not looking forward to deleting another duplicate again tomorrow. Can I please have a day off from babysitting your software?

    Then again, I guess I should be happy. Major software from Apple, Google and Microsoft plays nice and gives me options. As of today, only one software program, 1Password 4 for Mac, has snuck past me and taken over how I digitally prefer to do things. Only one. And it may be the last version of 1Password on my Mac.

  • Smoof
    Smoof
    Community Member

    P.S. In case my talking about it seems a bit annoying, just imaging what its like actually going through it. I turned my Mac off hours ago and did other things. I turned it back on four minutes ago. Guess what? No kidding, there's another 20MB file of that extremely annoying 1Password 4 for Mac backup folder. That's right! Your software did something on my Mac without me explicitly telling it to! This time before I actually did any work or entertainment.

    I just turned the Mac on! Before I bring up my browser, check my email, start up iTunes or iPhoto or manually backup my iPhone or iPad, play a game, or anything else, your software's first order of business is backing up a complete duplicate of what I just erased hours ago. Are you kidding me? This is your best tactic for protecting all user's data? Your software is so important, yet so concerned about security and privacy, that it thinks its a great idea just to pop another copy of its database before I even run 1Password 4 for Mac and enter my master password? It still does it anyways?!

    To quote a recent movie, "Times like this are when my temper is somewhat tested." Something tells me I'll just have to trick myself into thinking its the cost of doing business. For all the great things 1Password 4 does for me it goes against just about everything to learn about computer programming, software design, even website publishing - don't waste space, don't waste memory, try to make your software lean, mean, concise, and save extra stuff for just the comments in the code. Take a breath, try to calm down, its only making a copy of its database each day. Just delete them.

    Guess again I should be happy. At least in your effort to protect everyone's important data its not making another backup every single hour. So I should be extremely thankful I don't have 24 copies and day, 720 copies a month. Its just one a day. Maybe I should learn to handle that.

    Darn it! Maybe I should be silent and not give anyone such ideas.

  • sjk
    sjk
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @Smoof,

    I'm sorry to hear that 1Password 4 automatic backups have been causing you so much frustration. For the moment:

    I would be extremely happy with just one option - just to turn the darn thing off.

    Please email us at support+forum@agilebits.com, along with a link to this topic and your forum username, and we'll explain how you can do it. I hope that will help! :)

  • Smoof
    Smoof
    Community Member

    Hey, Sjk.

    Thanks for the help. I appreciate it. Likewise thanks to Megan.

    I've sent email as you suggested. Its subject is "Forum user request: Please explain how to disable 1Password 4 for Mac automatic backups."

    I resisted the urge of naming the subject "Please make me extremely happy with your software again." I assure you once disabled, that's exactly what I will be. Extremely happy.

  • Jasper
    edited September 2014

    Hi @Smoof,

    On behalf of @sjk and @Megan, you're welcome. Please check your email, as I've just responded to your message.

    I think this discussion has run its course, so I'm going to close it now. We're happy to continue working with you via email if you have any other questions about this. :)

    ref: LKE-86259-886

This discussion has been closed.