Do I need a hard copy of my passwords stored away?

jazzman
jazzman
Community Member

I have the standalone version of 1Password. I'm just wondering if I need a hard copy of my passwords stored somewhere just in case. Right now, in a worst case scenario, my loved ones can access everything on my iMac, iPad and iPhone. Just thinking out loud, is there a scenario that might call for a hard copy of my passwords? What am i missing here?


1Password Version: 7.8.6
Extension Version: 7.8.6
OS Version: 10.15.7
Sync Type: iCloud

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Comments

  • ag_ana
    ag_ana
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @jazzman!

    If your loved ones can already access your credentials on one of your devices, a hard copy might not be necessary. And you run the risk of ending up with a list that is not up-to-date, so you would have to keep printing it out regularly, I am not sure if this would be worth the effort.

  • jazzman
    jazzman
    Community Member

    Hi @ag_ana

    I was just wondering if it is even possible that my info could be lost somehow. If they are on my devices, is there ANY WAY that could happen. Plus, my vault is in iCloud, right?

  • We don't generally recommend printing from 1Password. I'd wager most people have at least 50 items in 1Password, and each item may take a half or whole sheet of paper. It would be extremely paper intensive. Plus items in 1Password are subject to change, requiring re-printing. And since we don't just print one item per page (and an item may spill over to a 2nd page with other items on it) this can get very unruly very quickly. A digital backup is likely going to be much more efficient and effective. Do you really want to be faced with the proposition of typing all of this information in from paper backups if something were to happen? :) Additional information on backups can be found here:

    1Password backups

    Plus, my vault is in iCloud, right?

    That may be true, if you've configured it as such, but I wouldn't recommend thinking of that as a backup. For example, if you accidentally delete/change an item, having the data in iCloud isn't going to help. The deletion/change is going to be synced to iCloud as well. You can upgrade to more in-depth off-site backups by upgrading to a 1Password membership:

    About 1Password membership

    I hope that helps!

    Ben

  • jazzman
    jazzman
    Community Member

    Hi @Ben

    Please clarify something for me. My 1Password is configured so that it updates across all of my Apple devices and in iCloud when I update anything. That is what I intended when I set it up. I did not upgrade to a 1Pass membership when I had the opportunity a few years back because I just liked it the way it was. It was just so easy to use and still is. Please enlighten me if I am missing something here. I do think I can destroy the hard copy of passwords that I have in my safe box now because all of that info is safely stored in 1 Password. Anyway, if you have any tips that might make my user experience better, please advise.

  • ag_ana
    ag_ana
    1Password Alumni

    @jazzman:

    I do think I can destroy the hard copy of passwords that I have in my safe box now because all of that info is safely stored in 1 Password.

    Certainly, if your data is stored inside 1Password, you can destroy the hard copy if you wish. What Ben was referring to is that iCloud is not a backup mechanism: say you delete an item by mistake, for example, or you edit it, the deletion or the change will immediately sync to all your other devices. A backup, on the other hand, would be a copy of your data at a certain point in time, so even if you delete or change something, you can always go back to a previous version of your data.

  • jazzman
    jazzman
    Community Member

    @ag_ana

    Thanks. I understand. A backup like you are referring to would work like a Time Machine backup, right? Speaking of Time Machine, I haven't even thought of that. I have two external hard drives that I use for backups with Time Machine. Do they backup my 1Pass stuff?

  • ag_ana
    ag_ana
    1Password Alumni

    @jazzman:

    A backup like you are referring to would work like a Time Machine backup, right?

    Correct!

    Speaking of Time Machine, I haven't even thought of that. I have two external hard drives that I use for backups with Time Machine. Do they backup my 1Pass stuff?

    They do, yes :+1:

  • jazzman
    jazzman
    Community Member

    @ag_ana

    By the way, this is another subject, but I have some usernames and passwords that don't load up like they should. I have to manually load them. One of them is this website. There are others. Most load instantly like they should, but some I have to copy and paste. Can that be fixed?

  • ag_ana
    ag_ana
    1Password Alumni

    @jazzman:

    What browser is this happening with for you? And what version of the 1Password browser extension are you using there?

  • jazzman
    jazzman
    Community Member
    edited July 2021

    Safari 14.1.1

  • jazzman
    jazzman
    Community Member

    @ag_ana

    Safari 14.1.1

    1Pass Extension 7.8.6

  • ag_ana
    ag_ana
    1Password Alumni

    @jazzman:

    I have just tested this forum in Safari and the extension worked for me, so I wonder if you have the Login items for these websites correctly configured. If you open the Login item for this forum, for example, does the value of the website field match the URL of this page? I mention it because if they don't match, 1Password won't offer to fill credentials for security reasons.

  • jazzman
    jazzman
    Community Member

    @ag_ana

    They don't match. So, do I just change the website field to match the URL of the forum? Also, if there are others, just do the same?

  • ag_ana
    ag_ana
    1Password Alumni

    @jazzman:

    They don't match.

    That would be the reason then :)

    So, do I just change the website field to match the URL of the forum?

    Correct :+1:

    Also, if there are others, just do the same?

    Yes, same thing: the website field must match the website URL. Once they do, 1Password will start suggesting those logins while you are on the login pages.

  • jazzman
    jazzman
    Community Member

    @ag_ana

    When you log in to this site, it first goes to the main page of the forum. That has one URL. Then you have to hit the sign in window to go to the page for the username and password. That has a different, longer URL. Which one do I use?

  • ag_ana
    ag_ana
    1Password Alumni

    @jazzman:

    You just need to enter the domain of the website, not the specific page. In the example of the forum, you can enter https://1password.community/.

  • jazzman
    jazzman
    Community Member

    @ag_ana

    Is that true for any website?

  • ag_ana
    ag_ana
    1Password Alumni

    @jazzman:

    Yes :)

  • jazzman
    jazzman
    Community Member

    @ag_ana

    I just tried it on this site, and it worked like a charm. Thank you. I'll change the others and see if I can get things working better overall. I'll report back to you afterwards. I may have another question or two. You have been such a great help. Thanks very much. :)

  • ag_ana
    ag_ana
    1Password Alumni

    You are very welcome @jazzman! And I am glad to hear I could help :) By all means, let us know if you have any other questions :+1:

  • jazzman
    jazzman
    Community Member

    @ag_ana

    I just checked this site on myiPad, and it now works like a charm since it synced with iCloud. Fantastic! You solved a big problem for me. Thanks again. :)

  • ag_ana
    ag_ana
    1Password Alumni

    You are very welcome @jazzman, and thank you for the kind words :) If you have any other questions, please feel free to reach out anytime.

    Have a wonderful day :)

  • jazzman
    jazzman
    Community Member

    @ag_ana

    Now here's a strange case. On one of my financial websites, everything works fine on my Mac and iPhone. Yet, on my iPad when I tap on the website, 1Pass shows the words username and password and superimposes the actual username and password over them. The sign in window below it is grayed out so you can't log in. Any ideas? All I could do on that one was copy and paste the password.

  • ag_ana
    ag_ana
    1Password Alumni

    @jazzman:

    Yet, on my iPad when I tap on the website, 1Pass shows the words username and password and superimposes the actual username and password over them.

    Can you please post a screenshot of this?

  • jazzman
    jazzman
    Community Member

    @ag_ana

    For some reason, probably security, this website will not allow me to post a screenshot. Oh well.

  • oliver_b_fischer
    oliver_b_fischer
    Community Member

    Hi @jazzman,

    I would recommend to have a hard copy of all account data, which are very important to you and you cannot recover. I have stored them in a safe deposit box, so that I can restore them if I lose access to all my devices.

    I did this for example for my crypto wallet and information on ofther financial accounts.

    So, even I case of my death, there information are available to my relatives and everyone who needs it.

  • @jazzman

    You can use this button to post an image:

    Ben

  • jazzman
    jazzman
    Community Member

    @ag_ana

    Hello, friend, I have another issue for you. I have both the 1Pass app on my Mac and the mini 1Pass that goes in the toolbar(?) at the top. It seems that, whenever I generate a new password these days, I have to do it on the mini application. If there's a way to use the original app I've had in my dock since 2014 to generate new password information, I am no longer aware of it. That's one problem. The other is, when the mini app generates a password, it does not save it as is. Recently I have had to write down the password and go back to the website in question to type it in and save it myself because 1Pass generates a second password and saves it in place of the original. It's like it has a mind of its own. It replaces the pw that I chose with a second one that it generates. What on earth am I doing wrong? When I was using the original 1Pass, it was simple. The original app, the one I have in the dock, generated passwords and saved them without issues as well as updating and saving the updates. I love 1Pass, but it is becoming difficult and time consuming and I'm sure it's my fault.

  • ag_ana
    ag_ana
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @jazzman!

    Hello, friend, I have another issue for you. I have both the 1Pass app on my Mac and the mini 1Pass that goes in the toolbar(?) at the top. It seems that, whenever I generate a new password these days, I have to do it on the mini application. If there's a way to use the original app I've had in my dock since 2014 to generate new password information, I am no longer aware of it. That's one problem.

    In the 1Password for Mac desktop app, you can create a new Password item by clicking on the little "+" button next to the search bar:

    The other is, when the mini app generates a password, it does not save it as is.

    How does it save it exactly?

  • jazzman
    jazzman
    Community Member

    @ag_ana

    Let's say I'm on a website creating an account. I set a username and, when it asks for a password, I use the 1Pass mini to generate it. Yet the mini app is not saving the password it generates. It creates a second password and saves that one. Go figure. Anyway, when I'm doing this from now on, can I generate the new password through the original 1Pass app and not the mini? What's the purpose of the mini anyway? Things were were working so well until the mini started doing this.

This discussion has been closed.