practical database size limit for iCloud syncing?

jmd

The size of my database is currently >100MB as reported by the finder. This database syncs nicely between mac and IOS devices. I am considering adding jpeg photo attachments to a number of items items such as logins, credit cards, etc. This will certainly increase the size of my iCloud synced database. Is there a practical database size beyond which syncing performance degrades? Is there any other reason that this might not be a good idea?

Note: iCloud space constraints are not be an issue. I have plenty of excess iCloud space.

Thanks,
Jim

---

1Password Version: Not Provided
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: Not Provided
Sync Type: Not Provided

Megan

Hi @jmd,

You're right, adding photos will certainly make your database a little bit bigger, and as your database grows, syncing will naturally take a little bit longer. How much longer though is largely dependent on iCloud itself, and your internet connection at the time.

So, if we're talking about adding a couple scans of your drivers' license and other important identity documents, I don't forsee a significant change in sync time ... but I wouldn't suggest using 1Password to store the photos from your last camping adventure.

jmd

Thanks Megan. Yes, i was thinking of adding 40-50 photos of licenses, credit cards, etc. I will give it a try and report back if i encounter disproportionately longer sync times or other unexpected glitches. Testing, 1P does not seem to downsample the images. Opening attached images in preview shows that file size is preserved, along with exif and gps info. Adding a 4MB image to my database resulted in a corresponding 4MB increase in my agilekeychain file. So, it would seem that downsampling images before adding would be wise.

Drew_AG

Hi @jmd,

Thanks for the suggestion! I'm not a developer myself, so I don't know exactly how much work it would take to add the ability to downsample images that are attached to items in 1Password, but even if it was relatively simple to implement, I'm not sure it would be something that we'd add. 1Password supports attachments of course, but really isn't meant to be a solution for picture storage (plus, there are many other apps/services that specialize in that sort of thing).

As for the photos you plan to add, as Megan said, a couple pictures/scans probably wouldn't make much of a difference. But if you add 40-50 photos, I imagine that's going to increase the size of your vault significantly (unless they're all very small files, of course). Adding them all at once will require more time to sync them all to other devices, although again, that depends mostly on iCloud and your internet connection.

Something else to consider is that if you ever install 1Password on a new device, it will need to sync your entire 1Password vault to that device all at once, and with a 100+ MB vault (plus the size of the additional 40-50 photos you mentioned), that will likely take some time.

We'd be interested to know how it all works out for you, though! Let us know if you run into any problems with that or if you need anything else. We're always happy to help! :)

jmd

Hi Drew. I agree that adding downsampling capabilities to 1P would probably not add a lot of value for most users. Efforts are probably better spent elsewhere.

Previously, I had been scanning membership cards, credit cards, licenses, passports, etc. and storing the jpegs in Aperture. Now that I'm transitioning to Photos and syncing to iCloud, it seems unwise to continue storing sensitive info in this manner.

This is the reason I considered using 1P. While I previously mentioned an test using a 4MB,, 4000x3000 pixel camera file, this is much larger than needed. Most of the card scans I have are only about 300KB jpeg files (front & rear @ 200dpi). Adding 50 or so attachments of this size would only add about 15MB, or about 15% to my database.

Good tip that a complete sync to a new device could take some time. I will certainly make sure that I'm on fast, stable wifi when i do that.

I'll start by adding a few attachments at a time, keeping an eye on total database size. I will also downsample and re-add some existing, unnecessarily large attachments. I'll report back if i encounter any unusual slowness or other problems.

Thanks for your input.

hawkmoth

@jmd - You could also further reduce the file sizes for your jpegs by saving the photos at less-than-best quality. You'll never notice the difference for the purpose you plan.

Drew_AG

Good point, @hawkmoth! :sunglasses: