Membership in more than one family

MDBrown
MDBrown
Community Member

I am the primary owner for my 1PW for families account. I've added several family members, including my son-in-law. My son-in-law has also chosen to subscribe to his own families account, specifically to manage his own family.

This creates a situation where he has 2 account keys, and we are confused about how to proceed. We understand that he would have 1 shared vault with me, using my account key, and a second shared vault with his own family members, using their account key. Is it possible to belong to multiple families?

Can you give guidance on how to manage this? I suspect other people would do this if possible.

Comments

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    @MDBrown: Just as in real life, it is possible to be a member of more than one family. You'll have a separate login for each (email, Account Key, Master Password), and separate vaults as well. It isn't possible to share vaults between families (or teams); rather, each family has its own Shared vault (among others), and you'll have your own Personal vault for each as well. I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions! :)

  • MDBrown
    MDBrown
    Community Member

    Ok thanks. That's not the most ideal setup, but it works for my needs. My main purpose is to give my son-in-law access to my accounts in case of emergency or death. So now, as I understand it, he would just log out of his family account and log in to my family account when necessary, using my account key, correct?

    Last question: each family member, like my son-in-law, will set their own master password for logging in to my family account on their own devices, correct? Or do I have to share my master password with them along with the account key?

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    So now, as I understand it, he would just log out of his family account and log in to my family account when necessary, using my account key, correct?

    @MDBrown: That's certainly one option, but I'd suggest it might be simpler if you share a vault with him (using his own account, invited to your Family) with the essentials. Something to consider.

    Last question: each family member, like my son-in-law, will set their own master password for logging in to my family account on their own devices, correct? Or do I have to share my master password with them along with the account key?

    Ah, great question! That goes back to what I said above. Ultimately, if it can be helped (which, if you're dead, that may not be the case), no one else should have your Master Password and Account Key. Ideally, these would be stored in a safe box, with the key only given to your beneficiary with your estate when you die. But keep in mind that with 1Password for Families you can invite 5 members and 2 guests to share data with, so that you don't have to give anyone your account information now — or perhaps ever. :)

  • MDBrown
    MDBrown
    Community Member

    Delayed response, but I need to understand this:

    I said:

    So now, as I understand it, he would just log out of his family account and log in to my family account when necessary, using my account key, correct?

    And you replied:

    That's certainly one option, but I'd suggest it might be simpler if you share a vault with him (using his own account, invited to your Family) with the essentials. Something to consider.

    The timeline of events was as follows:

    1. I created a Families account and sent an invitation to my son-in-law.
    2. Before accepting my invitation, he created his own Families account.
    3. Then he accepted my invitation, but is so far unable to see the vault I shared with him (probably because he is logged in under his own account key).

    So do I need to rescind that first invitation and send him a new one, which he would accept via his current Families account?

    Still confused with this one.

  • maxmustermann
    maxmustermann
    Community Member

    @MDBrown AFAIK there might be several points to it:

    • You (as admin) need to confirm once your son-in-law followed your invitation. You can do this from the admin console. Only then he will see the shared vaults.
    • If he is using the web UI (in the browser) I think he is only logged in into 1 family at a time, e.g. son-in.law.1password.com (his own family account). Then he obviously does not see your shared vaults.
    • So if he wants to use your family account as well he might need to open another browser window, e.g. mdbrown.1password.com and log in separately.

    Your son-in-law can use the same e-mail address for both logins, but they would have a different address (son-in-law.1password.com vs mdbrown.1password.com) and most likely a different account key.

    Hopefully I got this right,
    Martin

  • Thanks for the assist, Martin! Yes, that about sums it up. I think a key point to make here is that 1Password for Families accounts are 100% independent of each other. So if your son-in-law has his own Family (e.x. son-in-law.1password.com) and you have yours (e.x. mdbrown.1password.com) these are entirely separate entities that do not share any information. If you want your son-in-law to have access to some of the information on mdbrown.1password.com you'd need to invite him to that family. He'll have a separate account to login to in order to access the information in your Families account, vs his own, but both sets of credentials will be unique to him (you don't need to give him your Master Password, account key, etc).

    Does that help?

    Ben

  • MDBrown
    MDBrown
    Community Member

    I'm sorry, I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around this. You said:

    He'll have a separate account to login to in order to access the information in your Families account, vs his own, but both sets of credentials will be unique to him (you don't need to give him your Master Password, account key, etc).

    I understand how he would login to my family or his family separately through the browser. But can he also do this through the iOS app? It looks like he would go to > settings > 1Password for Teams > add new account. Is that correct?

    If that's correct, he will still need my team URL, account key, email address, and master password. Correct?

    Will he then be able to switch between accounts (i.e. between families) while inside the app?

    I'm pretty sure my use case is not all that unique. If I'm missing anything, please explain it to me as if I were a child.

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    @MDBrown: Anyone can belong to as many Families/Teams as they wish. For each of these, there will be a unique Family/Team login URL, Account Key, and (hopefully) Master Password — though most of us will probably use the same email address for multiple accounts.

    For example, I have both my own 1Password Family account and an AgileBits Team account. I have both of these setup in the apps, and can access either in the browser as well —simultaneously, if needed.

    If that's correct, he will still need my team URL, account key, email address, and master password. Correct?

    Not quite. While anyone in the same Family/Team will have the same login URL, the actual login credentials are person-specific. When you invite someone to your Team/Family, you're not giving them your login credential. You should never do that. Instead, they simply get a link to sign up and join your Family/Team. At that point, during the account creation process, they choose their own Master Password and get a unique Account Key which, similarly, are not meant to be shared.

    Will he then be able to switch between accounts (i.e. between families) while inside the app?

    I guess I don't understand why "switching" is necessary. Does my explanation above help?

  • MDBrown
    MDBrown
    Community Member

    Ok, so I'm going to do this one step at a time. If you don't mind, I'll confirm each step with you beforehand. I appreciate your support.

    Right now, I am the owner of my 1PW Families account, and my son-in-law is the owner of his own Families account.

    So, STEP 1: I will send an invitation to my son-in-law, through my Families website.

    STEP 2: My son-in-law will launch his 1PW iOS app and click on > Settings > 1Password for Teams > Add new account, and then either scan the QR code or sign in manually.

    Correct so far?

    Once he does that, and I confirm his membership in my Family, he should see (in his iOS app) 1) his primary vault, 2) any vaults under his own Family, and 3) a personal and shared vault under my Family.

    Correct?

  • It seems you're missing a couple steps, @MDBrown.

    Step 2 is that he accepts the invite and creates an account for himself within your family
    Step 3 is that you approve his account
    Step 4 is what you have listed as step 2

    Everything else sounds correct, yes.

    Thanks!

    Ben

  • MDBrown
    MDBrown
    Community Member

    Ok, this procedure worked perfectly. For anyone who wants to belong to 2 (or more) 1Password families, here are the steps to set up membership in multiple families -

    • John already belongs to Family 1.
    • The owner of Family 2 sends John an invitation.
    • John accepts the invitation and creates a Family 2 account for himself.
    • The owner of Family 2 approves John's account.
    • John then launches his 1Password iOS app and clicks on > Settings > 1Password for Teams > Add new account, and then either scans the QR code which he received in the invitation or signs in manually.
    • John will then see (in his iOS app) 1) his own primary vault, 2) any vaults under his original family, and 3) a personal and shared vault under the new family.

    Thanks guys.

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    @MDBrown: Likewise! Thank you for sharing your experience and feedback! I imagine it will help others. It can definitely be challenging to talk about something new like this without both parties getting a bit confused, but I'm glad that you were able to get things setup the way you wanted in the end. Cheers! :)

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