My thoughts of 1Password Accounts
Hi,
I have been an old and loyal user of 1Password for a long time (and still will be). I am currently using 1Password stand-alone for iOS, Mac and Windows with Dropbox Sync. I decided to try 1Password for individuals and I am afraid I didn't like it. I would like to share my thoughts about certain aspects:
SYNCHRONIZATION
There is no clear indication/information about the synchronization process neither in the iOS app nor in the Mac app. I had a bunch of documents and I had no idea when are the documents were synced. In fact the synchronization process stopped and I had to relaunch 1Password mini and the main app to make it finish. But it's not easy to notice this situation. I realized of that problem by individually looking each file and try to open it. If it opened, it was synced. If it said "uploading", well... it was uploading.
This is problematic in my opinion. Let's say I am in my Mac and I add a new document. If I turn off the Mac before the file is synced (since I don't know when everything is in the server I would have just to guess), I might find it unavailable in my iPhone later on when I need it.
I use Dropbox syncing, and I really like the fact that I have a clear, easy and reliable way of knowing the status of the sync process. In 1Password I don't. In my opinion, this is something that already worked great and it is not that well solved with Accounts.
DOCUMENTS
The access to documents is now a little more complicated. With Dropbox syncing, if you have a document attached to a 1Password item, you select it at press the space bar and quick look opens it. Super fast... Now it is not that easy...
Another thing that already worked great and it is not that well solved with Accounts.
iOS APPS
I specially don't like these two things regarding the iOS apps when they work with 1Password Accounts.
The first one is that the access to the documents is one tap further away than before. Previously, if I had a document attached to an item, let's say... a savings account, to access it, I tapped on the savings account and then on the document and there it was. Now, I can look for the document in the documents folder, or if I try to open it through the item where it is attached/linked, if I tap on the document it won't open, it will go to the document item itself. And there, I have to tap again. May seem silly... but I use this very often, and now it's a little bit harder.
The second one is another show stopper for me. It is not having the option to have all the documents available in the iPhone offline. With Dropbox sync you have "everything" on the iPhone. If I was traveling without internet access and I needed a document, I just opened it. Now I can't. I usually have very sensitive information in these documents that I don't use often. But when I need them, it's a matter of life and death... e.g. an emergency... if I don't have internet or the connection is very bad and I cannot get it... I can't imagine how I would feel.
In my opinion, this is something that already worked great and it is not that well solved with Accounts.
BACKUPS
I have read a lot of posts about the local backup controversy. I understand your technical reasons for not implementing it. But from my point of view.... No matter if you make a trillion backups of my data, I won't ever own it. If I recall correctly, you have talked sometime in the past about "owning your data". I really trust you, but I don't think if I do that much. I really have information on 1Password that, if lost, would cause me a lot of trouble. I sleep better knowing that even if you make backups, I still have one of my own that I can easily hug, kiss, talk to and restore if needed.
That was already solved with Dropbox sync... Do you want to restore a backup? Ok, start a new vault with the restored information. And that's a great solution. It does not cause sync problems. Since restoring from a backup is an emergency situation, having to start again from that restored backup it's not a problem.
I might be able to restore previous versions from your server. But, what happens if I do not have internet access? or if I messed up so much with the database that's best to start from yesterday's status for the entire database? or if something is corrupt on the server data and I need help from technical support? I now you would help me solving any issue I might have. But with backups and being able to restore them, I have one way of solving a vast amount of possible issues easily and immediately.
Again... In my opinion, this is something that already worked great and it is not that well solved with Accounts.
I still love 1Password and will keep using the stand-alone version. And I am looking forward hearing about improvements in 1Password accounts. I might consider giving it another try in the future if these problems/concerns I have are addressed/solved. This is not a joke... I would really love giving you my money every year so that you can keep improving and delivering new features.
Anyway, it's a great product, congratulations. But I don't think it's the right choice for me.
1Password Version: 6.3.3
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: macOS Sierra
Sync Type: Dropbox
Comments
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Hi @bonela! Welcome to our forum. This is a fantastic post to start here with. I really appreciate you taking the time to write your thoughts on 1Password accounts from an existing user's perspective. I'd like to discuss each point a bit.
There is no clear indication/information about the synchronization process neither in the iOS app nor in the Mac app. I had a bunch of documents and I had no idea when are the documents were synced. In fact the synchronization process stopped and I had to relaunch 1Password mini and the main app to make it finish. But it's not easy to notice this situation. I realized of that problem by individually looking each file and try to open it. If it opened, it was synced. If it said "uploading", well... it was uploading.
I see what you mean, and the main reason this is the case is from a design perspective. We try to make 1Password as simple as possible. Sync indicators are handy, but can clutter things up a bit. Having things work in the background, like what iCloud does, is what we aim for. However, when uploading Documents, it would be quite helpful to have an indicator similar to to what Dropbox shows in the menu bar when it is syncing files. :) Thanks for the suggestion.
ref: OPM-4428
The access to documents is now a little more complicated. With Dropbox syncing, if you have a document attached to a 1Password item, you select it at press the space bar and quick look opens it. Super fast... Now it is not that easy...
The first one is that the access to the documents is one tap further away than before. Previously, if I had a document attached to an item, let's say... a savings account, to access it, I tapped on the savings account and then on the document and there it was. Now, I can look for the document in the documents folder, or if I try to open it through the item where it is attached/linked, if I tap on the document it won't open, it will go to the document item itself. And there, I have to tap again. May seem silly... but I use this very often, and now it's a little bit harder.
I can see what you mean. We've had a lot of feedback about attachments and Documents, and we're looking into a better way of handling these in the future so they aren't an extra step away.
The second one is another show stopper for me. It is not having the option to have all the documents available in the iPhone offline. With Dropbox sync you have "everything" on the iPhone. If I was traveling without internet access and I needed a document, I just opened it. Now I can't. I usually have very sensitive information in these documents that I don't use often. But when I need them, it's a matter of life and death... e.g. an emergency... if I don't have internet or the connection is very bad and I cannot get it... I can't imagine how I would feel.
This has been a popular request as well. I personally went through the Documents category and quickly tapped "View Document" on each one to download them when I started using an account. This didn't take too long, but a "download all" option would make it simpler for folks who need offline access. I'll let the team know you're looking for it.
ref: OPI-3725
I have read a lot of posts about the local backup controversy. I understand your technical reasons for not implementing it. But from my point of view.... No matter if you make a trillion backups of my data, I won't ever own it. If I recall correctly, you have talked sometime in the past about "owning your data". I really trust you, but I don't think if I do that much. I really have information on 1Password that, if lost, would cause me a lot of trouble. I sleep better knowing that even if you make backups, I still have one of my own that I can easily hug, kiss, talk to and restore if needed.
Being in control of your data is certainly something that's important to us. That's why we had third-party sync options and 1Password was local-only by default for so many years. After a while we found that our users devices would break, the app would get uninstalled for some reason, or something else unfortunate would happen, and they wouldn't have another copy of their data anywhere. We created accounts to help with that. I just wrapped up a conversation with someone who left 1Password because we didn't automatically sync their data. So we're looking to a bright future with accounts.
Backups are a tough one. I'm sure you've seen my replies in other threads so you know where we're at. I've also let the team know that local backups are important to you and other users. It's good to know you understand the challenge of building a solution for it. I'll check in with the team on this as well.
ref: OPM-3967
I might be able to restore previous versions from your server. But, what happens if I do not have internet access? or if I messed up so much with the database that's best to start from yesterday's status for the entire database? or if something is corrupt on the server data and I need help from technical support? I now you would help me solving any issue I might have. But with backups and being able to restore them, I have one way of solving a vast amount of possible issues easily and immediately.
While I understand the principle, some of these can also happen with local backups. Technically they could be corrupt and not restorable at all if there's a database issue. Not having internet access is also a rarity for most people. I'm curious to know a bit more about when that would happen for you so the team understands why people need truly offline backups. :)
I still love 1Password and will keep using the stand-alone version. And I am looking forward hearing about improvements in 1Password accounts. I might consider giving it another try in the future if these problems/concerns I have are addressed/solved. This is not a joke... I would really love giving you my money every year so that you can keep improving and delivering new features.
Glad to hear that! I'd love to see you return to your account soon. :) In the meantime we'll keep your feedback in mind and I'll be sure it gets to the team. Thanks again for your dedication — it's rare and much appreciated. Let us know if you need anything else.
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Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us @bonela! I really appreciate you taking the time to do so. You've brought up some great points and we'll do our best to address these going forward so you can try using an account again in the future.
It's awesome to be supported by amazing people like you – we wouldn't be here without you and I'm very thankful for being able to work at my dream job. Thank you for making that possible and for sharing how we can better serve you. <3
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+1 for local backups. There should be no reason the local Mac/Windows client can't pull down a full copy of your data on a schedule and save it to your computer.
Also you shouldn't need any other justification from customers other than its something we want. Fact is shit happens, we find ourselves without internet, or just like the peace of mind. Your dealing with people's most critical data. I'm quite shocked by the push back on local backups.0 -
@Chris Peden I do agree with you from a user's perspective. I've also seen a bit of a developer's one, and there are reasons the apps can't do this simply. It's more complicated than downloading an archive of the data. After all, you need to restore it if something does happen. It also needs to be encrypted — we want to make sure 1Password data is protected even if it's in a backed up state. I'm sorry there was confusion about us wanting to do this. We do want to do it, we're just looking for the best solution for what people want and need. Feedback helps us get there, because we get perspectives that we don't have as the team that makes the app. :) Thank you for yours.
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