1Password Launches Recovery Codes and Simplified Sign-In Process

[svenmany]

In adding recovery codes, they seem to be trying to help simpler, less careful users. It's a less secure version of keeping your emergency kit saved somewhere and setting up 2 factor authentication on your account. It's less secure because you only need one secret (versus the two of the account key and master password) and uses email as 2-factor (versus an authentication app).

I guess you have to pick your poison: have a slightly greater risk of getting locked out of your account or having a less secure way back into your account.

 

[turbineseaplane]

I use Linux, Windows, and Android also and using these services make it so easy. One day I might drop Apple, and I can do it with a drop of a hat.

Given the current landscape and where Apple is at and appears to be going, it would behoove any tech savvy user to keep their options open.

I've loved Apple stuff for a couple decades, but nothing is necessarily forever.

I will use the best tools for the given jobs, period.

 

[msackey]

This is the way folks! ^^

(insert your own prefs for the various services of course -- I'm a Fastmail person for instance)

If you care deeply about a type of service, content and what it offers, pay for it!

Yes, we pay for the “content”, or in this case, product. Some of use just don’t want an ongoing leech via subscription. Like I had said in another comment, I paid for every single upgrade from v3 up to v7. Happy to pay for upgrades but not for ongoing subscription. There’s a difference.

 

[backstreetboy]

Until Apple’s version also works on Windows in the Big 3 (Chrome, Edge and Firefox) those of us who want a cross platform solution aren’t going anywhere.

Works fine in Chrome and Edge.
Install

iCloud - Free download and install on Windows | Microsoft Store

With the iCloud for Windows app, you can access photos, files, passwords and other important information from your iPhone or other Apple devices on your Windows PC. iCloud Photos • Access and view your iCloud photos directly in the Microsoft Photos app. • Keep your photos up to date across...

apps.microsoft.com

and install

iCloud Passwords - Chrome Web Store

iCloud Passwords lets you fill passwords from iCloud Keychain when signing in to websites using Chrome.

chromewebstore.google.com

iCloud Passwords - Microsoft Edge Addons

Make Microsoft Edge your own with extensions that help you personalize the browser and be more productive.

microsoftedge.microsoft.com

Firefox only has 3% marketshare so Apple will not bother with it for good reason.

 

[TriBruin]

Yes, we pay for the “content”, or in this case, product. Some of use just don’t want an ongoing leech via subscription. Like I had said in another comment, I paid for every single upgrade from v3 up to v7. Happy to pay for upgrades but not for ongoing subscription. There’s a difference.

So, honest question.

Let's say that 1Password offered a single price, but with a stipulation that you would only be eligible for security updates. Feature updates would be reserved for ONLY subscription members. Assumably, if you are willing to pay a price for a product, you are happy with that product as purchased, correct? Ongoing support and feature upgrades cost money. Would you be happy with this?

And let's face facts. The trend to subscriptions is driven by a change in the way software is viewed. In the early years of software, you went to a store like Best Buy or, dating myself, Egghead and bought a box with a bunch of floppy disks or, later a CD. You lived with the same set of feature for at least a year, maybe even 2 or 3 years. Then the company introduced a new version and you paid the full price again. Sales of v1 funded the development of v2 and so on.

The advent of the online store and internet changed the way software is distributed. It also changed expectations. Developers can no provide updates and new features on a regular basis. And customer expect it. Anytime Appel introduces a new feature, or breaks an existing API, we, as customer, demand that the vendors adopt the feature or fix their software.

I understand the resistance to subscriptions, I really do. However, I also recognize the realities of software these days. 1Password regularly adds new features to its software that I find useful. I am happy to pay.

 

[.wojtek]

I suspect that the 1Password developers are pushing the limits of what can be done with Extensions in Safari. The chrome based extensions work great, just the Safari extension. We know Apple tends to neuter their APIs and force vendors to live with certain limitations. Probably the case here.

Definitely seems like the case...

 

[msackey]

And let's face facts. The trend to subscriptions is driven by a change in the way software is viewed. In the early years of software, you went to a store like Best Buy or, dating myself, Egghead and bought a box with a bunch of floppy disks or, later a CD. You lived with the same set of feature for at least a year, maybe even 2 or 3 years. Then the company introduced a new version and you paid the full price again. Sales of v1 funded the development of v2 and so on.

The advent of the online store and internet changed the way software is distributed. It also changed expectations. Developers can no provide updates and new features on a regular basis. And customer expect it. Anytime Appel introduces a new feature, or breaks an existing API, we, as customer, demand that the vendors adopt the feature or fix their software.

I understand the resistance to subscriptions, I really do. However, I also recognize the realities of software these days. 1Password regularly adds new features to its software that I find useful. I am happy to pay.

I dispute what you indicate and qualify as "facts". I don't think those are the facts at all. It's a particular way of framing the phenomenon, and I don't buy that framing.

Software developers like 1P are just finding ways to continually monetize. I understand if what they offer is a service, which at this point it is because they eliminated local vaults but that's a business decision and not a technological one.

By the way, we are at least about the same generation (or I could be older or you could be). I recall Egghead. I recall shareware that came in floppy disks. Heck, I recall disks that actually were floppy: 5 1/4 inch disks. I don't just recall them. I used them.

Let's say that 1Password offered a single price, but with a stipulation that you would only be eligible for security updates. Feature updates would be reserved for ONLY subscription members. Assumably, if you are willing to pay a price for a product, you are happy with that product as purchased, correct? Ongoing support and feature upgrades cost money. Would you be happy with this?

Regarding above quote: That was essentially how 1P ran their software up until around v8! And that was essentially how many software developers ran their software. Minor updates didn't require payment (though fine if they wanted it); major upgrades required payment.

 

[MacBH928]

"Getting locked out of your account can really ruin your day"...

Thats why I canceled my "rent-a-software" 1Password subscription. Bitwarden is FOSS+Free .

 

[eltoslightfoot]

"Getting locked out of your account can really ruin your day"...

Thats why I canceled my "rent-a-software" 1Password subscription. Bitwarden is FOSS+Free .

And their subscription is cheap, honestly.

 

[bice]

So, honest question.

Let's say that 1Password offered a single price, but with a stipulation that you would only be eligible for security updates. Feature updates would be reserved for ONLY subscription members. Assumably, if you are willing to pay a price for a product, you are happy with that product as purchased, correct? Ongoing support and feature upgrades cost money. Would you be happy with this?

...

That is what I want and have paid for, until it was no longer possible. Well, "ongoing support" is usually included with a software license, it is an odd concept of selling commercial software without any support. This is not a open source or PD software we are talking about.


Selling software license and paid upgrades is a very good model because there is incentive to develop features the users will benefit from and thus are willing to pay an upgrade fee for.

Yes, indeed the distribution of software have changed, and not for the better. Vendors are now putting out software that is not fully developed, thinking it is good enough to patch it every fortnight. Features are rudimentary and meant to be perfected over a period of several months. Users think this is a good thing "we are getting free upgrades all the time" while in fact they are just getting whatever the developers managed to get stable within the sprint.
The subscription model incentivise this.

But main reason for the surge in subscription model is not the distribution or incremental development of software. It is due to micro payments. People sadly thinks software is cheaper if they pay by monthly instalments, because the number is smaller and each payment disappears in their finances.

 

[svenmany]

"Getting locked out of your account can really ruin your day"...

Thats why I canceled my "rent-a-software" 1Password subscription. Bitwarden is FOSS+Free .

I haven't tested, but I think you won't get locked out of your data if you cancel your subscription. You would lose access to their servers, but the software would continue to work against the local copy that's kept on your machine. I might post a question on their forums asking if this is true.

 

[MacBH928]

And their subscription is cheap, honestly.

The thing is that it adds up. Multiple vendors are fighting for your money on monthly basis, and I am not willing to encourage that behaviour from software vendors in the future.

Adobe, MS Office, 1password, Evernote, Apple Arcade, Apple Music, VPN, Email, YouTube premium, Audible, Fantastical, PDF Expert...

Some of those are services , which is fair for subscription, and you do not need all those apps but you get the idea. I also am not up for the software not working because my credit card got canceled or expired or some weird issue.

I haven't tested, but I think you won't get locked out of your data if you cancel your subscription. You would lose access to their servers, but the software would continue to work against the local copy that's kept on your machine. I might post a question on their forums asking if this is true.

in all cases, using a free or license option gives a more peace of mind especially for something as critical as a password manager.

 

[svenmany]

Some of those are services , which is fair for subscription,

1Password is a service. The software is given for free to access the service.

 

[MacBH928]

1Password is a service. The software is given for free to access the service.

not if you want local storage, but I do agree if you want the cloud storage you should pay. There is also the option to store in your own cloud (which they do not include) of choice which makes it not a service any more on their part.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Selling software license and paid upgrades is a very good model because there is incentive to develop features the users will benefit from and thus are willing to pay an upgrade fee for.

The problem with this here is that at any given moment an OS or Browser can change something that borks the product for all their customers.

i.e. they are forced to work on things as they go and release updates ASAP as things go along -- and it's totally out of their control.

The old model of paid updates every year/two/three simply breaks for this type of software unless a given customer doesn't update 1P and also doesn't update their OS or Browsers ever (sometimes you can't even prevent this if you want to!)

It just doesn't really work anymore

 

[svenmany]

not if you want local storage, but I do agree if you want the cloud storage you should pay. There is also the option to store in your own cloud (which they do not include) of choice which makes it not a service any more on their part.

The version that provided local storage is a different, discontinued product. I guess one might consider it unfair if they had required a subscription to use that product and not use their servers. I don't remember them doing that.

Some of those are services , which is fair for subscription,

That would imply that you consider it fair that the current product made by AgileBits is a subscription.

 

[bice]

The problem with this here is that at any given moment an OS or Browser can change something that borks the product for all their customers.

i.e. they are forced to work on things as they go and release updates ASAP as things go along -- and it's totally out of their control.

The old model of paid updates every year/two/three simply breaks for this type of software unless a given customer doesn't update 1P and also doesn't update their OS or Browsers ever (sometimes you can't even prevent this if you want to!)

It just doesn't really work anymore

It is true that if software depends on something 3.rd party that gets deprecated, it will stop working. I don't agree it is out of the developer's control though.

Neither browser nor OS vendors removes or completely changes methods at any given moment. If you use supported standard methods in any framework for OS and browser integration it will last for a foreseeable future. You will get noticed about major changes in new versions and a any self-preserving business will plan for this well in advance.

Meaning a decently made piece of software does not get borked by an everyday browser or OS update.

When there are major upgrades in a OS or browser, sure. A software business can of course at that point decide to say "version X will not work on next OS/Browser upgrade". And that's where the paid upgrades come in. Customer can chose to stay with older version or pay to upgrade.


But none of this means the only way to finance and deliver software that works on today's OSs and browsers is to charge by month.

 

[MacBH928]

The problem with this here is that at any given moment an OS or Browser can change something that borks the product for all their customers.

i.e. they are forced to work on things as they go and release updates ASAP as things go along -- and it's totally out of their control.

The old model of paid updates every year/two/three simply breaks for this type of software unless a given customer doesn't update 1P and also doesn't update their OS or Browsers ever (sometimes you can't even prevent this if you want to!)

It just doesn't really work anymore

I believe licensed software should receive free updates for 3-5 years at least as part of the deal. No new features but at least let it work to get my money's worth. Crossover did this to me, I paid like $30-60 and in something like less than one year I upgrade MacOS and it didn't work at all. They asked for another paid upgrade.

Now I do not buy Crossover nor recommend it.

That would imply that you consider it fair that the current product made by AgileBits is a subscription.

Well I do not know how much it costs to do the storage of the data in the cloud as Standard Notes does the same on the free tier, but yes I would accept that as an excuse to pay subscription as it is a service, but its a service that I do not want. I want to store locally which is what I am doing with Enpass.

If you want 1password cloud storage go for it.