Difference between versions

Chippelchen

Hey I bought 1Password long time ago and I don't have the monthly membership. Could you please explain me the differences between these two?

I'm using my vault synched with iCloud. Is this vault on my local network or is it in the cloud? If so: what is the difference between iCloud and the subscripting service?? Is the membership cloud only and is the way I'm using the previous version with iCloud on my local drive?

Lars

Hi @Chippelchen - great questions! If you'd like a run-down of the difference between local vaults and manual sync (using iCloud, Dropbox, etc), here’s a great explanation. To answer your question about your current setup, if you've been using iCloud as your sync method, then your data are stored both on your local device and encrypted in iCloud. That's how it syncs between multiple devices: you make changes to the local 1Password database (add items, change some, delete others), and then 1Password syncs those changes to the encrypted copy of your data in iCloud, so that when you open 1Password on a different device, all your data (including those changes/additions/deletions) are up to date. In other words, if you've already been using iCloud sync, then in that regard it's "the same" as a 1Password account. I put "the same" in quotes, however, because although both iCloud sync and 1Password accounts utilize "the cloud" to sync your data, that's about where the similarities end.

There's no one "the cloud" out there; each cloud storage provider is different in many ways, and 1Password accounts allow us to offer users a much more secure and robust experience, not to mention an easier one. With a 1Password account, we take care of backups and syncing, leaving you free to simply USE 1Password, instead of having to manage licenses and set up sync manually and make sure it's working. With a 1Password account, you can have as many vaults as you wish available on all of your devices; with iCloud you're limited to just your primary vault. With a 1Password account, you have secure web access from any computer in the world, instead of only via the 1Password app installed on your device. What happens if you're on vacation and you drop your laptop in the pool? If your 1Password data is synced via iCloud, you can't access it until you can get another device, install 1Password on it, and sync from iCloud. With a 1Password account, if you need to, you can access your data in any modern browser, like from the hotel's concierge service or business office. Best of all, if you've got a 1Password account, it includes access to ALL 1Password applications for all four platforms (Mac, Windows, iOS and Android), including all upgrades, for as long as you maintain your membership. So if you change devices or add a new device, it's no problem -- you'll always have the latest 1Password available to you, no matter your device configuration.