Feature request: Read-Only/Receive Mode switch

Brighter454

Please add a mode switch to 1Password Settings so that Dropbox or iCloud syncing always over-writes the keychain on an iOS device; in other words, the iOS device can be set to Read-only status, to only Receive updates, but not to change the keychain.

Background, rationale for the feature request:
With the new version of 1Password for iOS, for the first time I've been having problems with 1Password on my iPhone getting out of sync with Dropbox. The thing is: I never change passwords or add keychain entries using my iPhone -- I only look up passwords for apps on my iPhone. Nevertheless, I'm presented with the message that the keychain is different from the one in Dropbox and recommended not to merge. (I understand why NOT to merge -- it creates a lot of duplicate conflicts.)

The way I've been solving the problem: delete 1Password, download it again, and point it to the existing keychain in Dropbox.

I am manually doing what could happen automatically if my iOS keychain was read-only on my iPhone and 1Password simply received whatever keychain was stored in Dropbox. As I thought more about this problem, I recognized that I typically make changes to the 1Password keychain using a Mac or iPad due to the larger screen size. For me, the iPhone instance of 1Password is a read-only scenario.

Having a switch in 1Password settings would allow those who make changes on their iOS device to keep doing so, but for those of us who simply do look-up and copy actions, having a read-only mode could make 1Password much easier (and less frustrating!) to use.

Megan

Hi @Brighter454‌

Thanks so much for taking the time to write in! I sincerely apologize that 1Password is frustrating you at the moment. I can understand where this feature request is coming from, but I think it might be an even better solution to polish up Dropbox sync to ensure that you don't have to worry about this at all. :)

I'm presented with the message that the keychain is different from the one in Dropbox and recommended not to merge.

When you see this screen, do you tap on the 'More info' button? Let me tell you the reasoning behind this dire warning. It was put in place when we introduced multiple vaults onto iOS. We wanted to help ensure that users did not accidentally merge two different vaults. In practice however, it's worried a lot of people when simply re-setting sync. If you tap on the 'More Info' button, you'll often see that the databases are nearly identical, with maybe a few extra items in your Mac vault that you've added since sync got disconnected.

We're working on making this warning more informative and less 'doom-and-gloom' so that users are less concerned about ending up with a bunch of conflicts.

(I understand why NOT to merge -- it creates a lot of duplicate conflicts.)

1Password has actually gotten pretty good at merging lately. You shouldn't see duplicate records. If you have made an edit to the same item on multiple devices and 1Password cannot determine which edit is newer, you may end up with 'Conflict' fields within the entry that saves the conflicting data, but since you only edit on your Mac, I don't foresee this being an issue for you.

I think that a change to the merge warning, coupled with the smashing of the bug with Dropbox sync will make a feature like this less necessary.

Thanks again for your feedback, please do let me know if you have any further questions or concerns - we're here to help! :)

Brighter454

I notice the merge behavior because (1) I've been using 1Password since version 2 in 2008 (2) I've used 1Password across multiple generations of Macs and iOS devices. As a rough guesstimate, I think over half of my 1Password entries have duplicate content -- usually in the Notes. The best way I've found to eliminate the duplication is the technique I described . . .

I'm still a customer, so the feedback is constructive. ;)

Ben

so the feedback is constructive. ;)

We appreciate it. :)