Require password to show software licences - can I avoid this?

neilB

HI,
I am using a single vault on (I must say "the superbly useful") 1Password.
I don't have a 1Password "account" I have the standalone purchased version.

As recommended, I have a complex 4 word master password, it makes sense to do that for sure. Especially, I feel, as my 1Password data is out there on Dropbox.
I am spoiled, though, by the fingerprint log in on my iPhone, so occasionally feel reluctant to type in the whole master password when in the mac. I have read up why its not possible to add such a sensor to my macs - it's insecure.
Of course, when I want to see serious items like bank log ins etc. the long master password is totally valid.

But, typing in the long password quite a few times a day has got me thinking, could, say, less serious items like software serials perhaps be accessed without a password or with a simpler one? I don't think hackers want my software license codes (or do they?)
Is there away to do this? I mean section off "less important" stuff like software licence numbers into an area that’s protected by a short password?
If an additional vault might do this, is it easy to move my software serials into a second vault?

I was happy with my software licences in Yojimbo which usefully did not password them. But I'd like to have everything in one place and 1Password has become that place.

thanks and happy new year all
neil

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1Password Version: 6.8.5
Extension Version: 4.6.12.90
OS Version: OSX 10.12.6
Sync Type: dropbox

Lars

Hey @neilB -- it's a great question. In fact, we used to have such a thing in 1Password 3 for iOS - for each item, you could require the Master Password, or (for items you deemed less important), you could just use the 4-digit PIN code (that was before Apple introduced Touch ID).

It worked pretty well for those who understood it. Actually, quite well indeed. The problem was that not everyone took the time to understand it, and what we found was that too many users weren't requiring the Master Password for anything at all, meaning that one four-digit PIN code was taking the place of whatever long, strong Master Password users had taken the time to create. Not so bueno. When we re-tooled 1Password for iOS for version 4, we removed that option, as we realized that the strong security offered by 1Password shouldn't be bypassable, especially inadvertently.

Fast-forward to today, and we've got Touch ID and now Face ID that make unlocking on iOS devices a breeze...but there is still the option to disable it and require entry of the Master Password every time, for the extra-cautious or those with more serious threat profiles. But on the Mac side, things aren't quite the same. However, if you consider the ability to use Touch/Face ID progress, then things are improving there as well: the new Macs with Touch Bar actually do already allow for Touch ID in 1Password for Mac, and I can only imagine that will continue in the future (though of course we've no more access to the future plans of Apple than you have).

For those of us rocking older hardware without the Touch Bar (such as me, and it sounds like you, as well), this isn't a reality yet, sadly. I can say pretty conclusively we won't be bringing back the ability to assign lower security to items, but the future looks pretty bright for greater ease-of-use while maintaining high security on your desktop or laptop as well as your mobile devices.