Unfortunately…I haven’t found a replacement yet that combines local storage and easy backup, doesn’t require internet connectivity to work, supports secure notes and image attachments to entries, and supports iOS/iPadOS/macOS. I could do with the Electron macOS app if I have to…but no local storage or backups and required connectivity…particularly the former…are a non starter. If 1PW 8 isn’t fixed…I will use v7 until it breaks and will cancel my current subscription…so they’ll actually lose revenue. The feedback on their support forum is 80 to 90% against this. I would pay for a subscription if local storage and backups were included… yet Dave Teare is putting out marketing BS to justify the companies shift to a subscription only model aimed mostly at business clients as helped along by their VC money infusion. Clearly…the company has moved along and no linger cares much about macOS or individual users. Password Wallet might be the best alternative…but it doesn’t support notes or image attachments, is les than fully satisfactory in sync capability and in auto fill of credentials…but none of t(e other major players support local storage either. Dave even claims that DropBox sync…which works perfectly for v7…”doesn’t support our needs”…more obfuscation and marketing fluff to justify the change in business model IMO. Looks like I will be sticking with v7 until it breaks…and hoping for a better newer down the rod for things other than passwords that need protecting.
After many years as both a TidBits and 1PW user, I have noticed the tendencies of some TidBits users to try desperately to hold on to old software.
People still on Mojave refusing to update because they love some 32 bit app that won’t run anymore.
I remember when AgileBits, the company behind 1PW was a tiny 1 man operation in Canada. The company has continued to update and improve their software and make it sync across multiple operating systems. From one man Dave Teare, working out of his home to 381 employees and two offices. I remember Dave Teare himself manning his 1Password booth at MacExpo at Moscone Center.
Their customer support and community forums are super responsive. They listen to their users and explain their challenges and why some idea or proposal is not feasible.
Yes, it is a subscription model, which I normally hate. I refuse to subscribe to Adobe for $120 a year. I am not in a business that uses Adobe software to make money. There are better alternatives.
But I use 1PW daily. I don’t want my passwords stored locally. I have had my computer stolen. I had another computer bricked by an Apple software update. My passwords are much safer on their servers. Apple just signed up to put their 123,000 employees and contractors on 1PW.
I like giving my kids a paper letter designed by 1PW that has instructions for getting into my computer and my bank accounts and contacts after my death. Everything they may need to know to settle my affairs is available to them on their computers.
All this for $36 a YEAR. On unlimited devices. If I have a family, 5 family users costs $60 a year. How can anyone whine about that price for the value received.
So, if you are holding on to local vaults the way some TidBits user are holding on to Mojave, I don’t think AgileBits will miss your business. Nor do I think you will find a better PW manager than 1Password.
They’ve had 16 years to develop and improve 1Password. Every update has made the product better, more secure, and easier to use.
Thanks to 1Password, I have a different, random, complex password for every site where I have an account.
Someone could threaten me with a gun and demand my password to some website and I guess I would get shot because I have none of them memorized. How can I memorize YZtr!49-Du?
Just the Master Password. Which only works on my devices secured by Face or TouchID. Not 100% secure but I am comfortable.
1PW currently stores a copy of your Encrypted file locally. The design ensures that decrypted info from 1PW is safely and securely handled. If your machine is stolen and you do not have automatic 1PW locking and logout correctly enabled, it is your fault. The algorithms they use have been tested and praised for years. There is no difference where the vaults are stored, other than if there is no local copy, you’re SOL without Internet.
I’m happy for users that don’t want passwords stored locally…but the current DropBox sync capability means that an encrypted copy is stored on every one of my devices locally…so if the laptop gets stolen or the phone that copy does the thief no good and I can use another device until it is replaced.
As I said…I’m happy to pay the subscription fee…but I (and many others if you’ve looked at their support forum) want the ability to store either locally or cloud as the user wants. This capability works perfectly in v7 of the app…and has been deliberately removed to force users into a subscription only model. They have provided zero explanation for this change other than “DropSync does not properly support our needs” which is just claptrap. Yes…the Secret Key doesn’t work for local vaults…but the Secret Key is just another password…and the password or passcode on the device and the DropBox password provide the same double password security.
I find no reasonable explanation for this change…and they haven’t provided one…beyond forcing people into a subscription model to increase revenue and lower costs. There isn’t anything wrong with that for the company…but they’re being dishonest in claiming that it is better security and that 97% of their users “prefer the subscription model.
I and many others have asked for a better explanation of why the local storage option has been deleted…and the silence beyond marketing BS is deafening on their forums.
If no local vault will exist, what happens when there is no Internet connection or agilebits servers are down? No connection is a fact of life and not every use requires my having Internet.
Francisco
Because I bought the app years ago, and they haven’t added anything of benefit (for me) to it since then, but they have instead removed capabilities that were helpful to me from it.
Far from holding on to local vaults, I would suggest that those trying to justify 1Password’s money grab are trying to hold on to an old app they love, which doesn’t love them anymore.
I need to check into this. Thanks for pointing it out. Also, I’m a huge fan of 1Password, and I’d be lost if they went out of business.
As Dana Schwartz says, 1PW has and will continue to have a local copy of your passwords. What is going away is standalone vaults, which do not have a copy on their servers (used for syncing and other purposes). Local backups have been announced as a forthcoming feature. A self-hosted server is a possible future option, there is a survey about the possibility going on. This is so new that one can’t tell whether, if this does get introduced, users will have an option to store their vaults ONLY locally, without having a copy on 1password.com
Amen. You use WHAT WORKS. Something that doesn’t make you jump through hoops. I’m sick of money grabs by companies and this is the second one I’ve heard of just today; first, Disney; now 1Password. I won’t be upgrading to version 8 either.
Add LastPass to the list. LP was purchased by LogMeIn and just recently they went from a free base product to a subscription model. That part was fine because how do you make revenue without ads? The base version supported syncing to all of my devices. Great, I’d pay for that. The Premium version was extra and allowed syncing with family. The new subscription model forced me into a pay version because I could now only get all device syncing if I signed up which now included the family version which I did not need. The so-called “free” version now only supported one device. Since the LogMeIn acquisition, updates have been non-existent and bugs have not been fixed. sign. Mike
I am really dragging my 1Password feet — we are still on 1PW 6 (the family plan). Now I am wishing that I had gotten version 7 before this recent switcheroo.
How does this work? I’ve looked around in 1PW but can’t see this feature.
The only thing I’m aware of that resembles it is their Emergency Kit, which I am now reminded to send to my daughter . . .
Yes, thanks. I remember seeing that ages ago but I had forgotten about it.
1Password 8 for Mac, which is basically rewritten from the ground up, is in “Early Access” which is just another name for it being a public beta.
1Password 7 for Mac is still the current version and you can (and should) download it.
In the past, I held off from switching from 6 to 7 but that was only because I had standalone licenses (standalone licenses were still an option but I was weighing that choice against a family subscription). Do you only have old Macs? Part of what compelled me to finally get 1Password 7 was it was the only way to get a browser extension for the current version of Safari at the time.
I am ill-equipped to follow the comments, Neil, but I wonder if their blog offers any clarification?
FYI, the Emergency Kit feature of 1Password does not appear to be supported in the stand-alone version of 1Password 7.
Not really…it just justifies their transition with a bunch of marketing BS about how much better the new version is, how 97% of their users choose the subscription option (because the stand alone version and licensing stuff is hidden really well on their site), and how DropBox sync which works perfectly under v7 simply doesn’t support their needs for sync (with no explanation of that claim despite being asked). It seems pretty obvious me…they’ve essentially decided not to care bout their macOS roots with the Electron app and with their recent VC money infusion are changing business models to force users to a subscription model and aim primarily at the business users.
Thanks Curtis. I also have a standalone license which is a family plan for version 6, so I haven’t paid anything since 2014. A real bargain actually. At this point, version six requires that I copy and paste passwords, but my understanding from listening to SecurityNow podcasts is that this might be a bit more secure that letting a web-browser extension input the passwords anyway.
My understanding is that upgrading to 1Password 7 will require me to have a subscription at this point. Presumably if I had bought version 7 a few months back, I could have continued subscription free.
I just read the new thread on 1Password, and I may spring for the 50% off for three years if they offer it in exchange for my family plan license. I have passwords for webservers and domain hosts, etc for many people that I have helped, going back years. Definitely got my money’s worth.
Somewhat tangentially…
I have only ever used Dashlane since David Pogue recommended it many years ago. I tried LastPass a few years ago but the data migration from Dashlane did not work as I would have liked and I could see no benefit so dropped it.
Now Dashlane is ending their macOS app support and has moved to a browser based product. Up to a point this makes sense as almost the only use for the functionality is to log on to websites but Dashlane (and other products) also provided secure document storage which was useful and could be accessed off-line.
The ‘problem’ here is that app vendors (and service vendors in general) have continually to change their products and services otherwise they cannot hold onto good developers and change often means some users will be dissatisfied. Not sure what we can do about this.