Meet 1Password, a Desert Island App (2024)

I am back! Some pesky medical problems kept me away, but happily, they have been handled. I am also happy to present another app I can’t live without, hence the “Desert Island” moniker. To learn more about what constitutes a D.I.A. and who coined the term, click here.

Today, we’ll explore 1Password—or 1P as many call it—which I think is still the best password manager available on any platform. Why the word “still”? I initially reviewed it for the Huffington Post 14 years ago, and all these years later, I still recommend it, which is saying something! If you’re not familiar with what 1P is and does, my older review can fill in the blanks.

This review will focus on the differences between 1P and Apple’s free iCloud Keychain, which—after almost 20 years—is about to become a full-fledged password manager in this fall’s macOS and iOS updates. I’ll show why 1P is better, and is worth the money. PC users don’t have a built-in password manager, so they should get 1P immediately. Speaking of purchasing, I’ll provide a very special 1P discount code for my loyal Tech Daddy readers at the end of this article. Now, let’s dive in!

AN OBVIOUS ADVANTAGE

The first reason I recommend 1P over Apple’s built-in iCloud Keychain is simple: it’s available on all platforms and devices! iCloud Keychain is competent at managing passwords but only works on Macs, iPhones and iPads; web browser integration only works inside Safari. If you use Firefox or a Chrome-based browser on the Mac, use a PC or an Android phone, you’re out of luck. There are a couple of experimental browser extensions to connect other browsers to iCloud Keychain, but … well … they don’t work very well. Some of them can even corrupt your precious data!

Conversely, 1P works on the Mac, iPhone, iPad, PC, Android, and all browsers. Sweet!

The primary purpose of a password manager is to create long, strong, convoluted — and therefore impossible-to-remember — passwords, store them securely, and automatically enter them for you any time you need them on any device you may have. 1P does this exceptionally well.

SECURITY SHOWDOWN

Now let’s compare 1P and iCloud Keychain “features and benefits,” an eye-rolling tech term that, in this case, applies:

• Generating Passwords

While iCloud Keychain can suggest “strong” passwords when creating a new login or updating a password, there is no user control over the process. For example, if a website requires certain special characters, iCloud Keychain can’t handle them. 1P, on the other hand, lets you specify how many characters the password should have—from 8 to 100(!)—the ability to turn on and off numbers and special symbols and how many of them to use.

• Enabling Multifactor Authentication (MFA)

MFA provides another level of security beyond a password. It is the current term for websites and services that require you to enter a code after signing in. (An alternate term is OTA: One-Time Authentication.) Although a bit more convenient, the less secure way of entering these codes is via text message. We’ve all had to deal with this, but in theory, it should keep us more protected. In practice, text messages can be faked, so these temporary codes, usually supplied by an “authenticator app,” are a better choice. iCloud Keychain and 1P now have MFA built in, so there is no need for a separate authenticator app. Yay! The bad news is that iCloud Keychain still requires a 2nd device to set this up, while 1P has its own method that doesn’t need another device.

Even better, 1P will prompt you if a website now offers MFA, then coach you through the process of getting to the page on that site displaying a QR code. 1P will then automatically grab the QR code and bada-bing! MFA is enabled. And 1P will automatically paste in the code for you, so there’s no anxiety; typically, these codes rotate every 20 to 30 seconds, depending on the site, which can rattle users as the clock ticks down.

• Passkeys: The Final Frontier

I’ll be discussing passkeys in an upcoming post. For now, let’s say that passkeys are the future… a future without passwords! Most of us now have biometric devices, like FaceID or TouchID, so why not use that to sign us in instead of a password? If no biometric is available, you can still use your Mac or iPhone’s unlock password to sign in.

Passkeys are locally stored on your device, cannot be hacked, and have been impenetrable so far. The Bad Guys hate passkeys! Many websites now offer the option of using a passkey, and both iCloud Keychain and 1P work with them. Both will offer to switch from using a password to a passkey if available. That’s where the similarity ends.

Once again, iCloud Keychain’s dependence on Apple-only devices and browsers limits passkey options. If you only use Safari, no problem! However, if you use any other browser, it won’t know you have a passkey for a particular site. Because it works with all browsers, platforms and devices, 1P makes your passkeys available everywhere and is always in sync. Current PCs also support passkeys, but Windows is so brain-dead it does not sync them with a cloud service! So if your PC crashes or dies, you lose all your passkeys. Got a PC? Get 1P!

• Password Sharing

This is where 1P really shines. You can share passwords with a spouse or other family members while keeping others private. This is a critical feature, as I’ve had to deal with too many grieving spouses whose partner has died, taking all their passwords with them. It is a horrible situation that no one should ever experience, and password sharing can prevent it. iCloud Keychain offers essential password sharing, but it is cumbersome to set up and only works on devices running the latest operating systems; everyone else is left out. 1P, on the other hand, works on a variety of older systems and makes it easy to set up a “shared vault” and then share it with others.

BEYOND ICLOUD KEYCHAIN

Finally, 1P offers a bunch of extra features that iCloud Keychain does not:

• More security — 1P has “Secure Notes,” a place to keep crucial text-based info that only you can see

• More categories — Beyond logins, 1P has separate categories for bank accounts, credit cards, routers, documents, licenses, memberships, reward programs and more.

• More flexibility — 1P can use more than one password “vault,” so, for example, you could have separate business and personal password sets.

• More protection — 1P has an enhanced “Watchtower” feature that warns you if a password has been compromised and then coaches you through resetting it. Watchtower can also detect weak passwords or ones that have been used on too many sites.

• More peace of mind — 1P has “Travel Mode,” which can hide entire vaults from prying border control agents and officials if you turn it on before traveling. This is an absolute must if you routinely travel to destinations prone to device search and seizure.

HERE’S THE DISCOUNT I PROMISED YOU

Believe it or not, I have only scratched the surface of what 1P can do! Fortunately, the good (and very polite!) Canadian people at AgileBits, the maker of 1P, have given me some special links so you can see for yourself and save some money. The best bargain is 1P For Families; they also offer a business version called 1P For Teams.

To try 1P for Individuals with a free 2-week trial and then a discounted price, click here

To try 1P for Families with a free 2-week trial and then a discounted price, click here

To try 1P for Families for only $2.50 a month for the first year (a 50 % discount), click here

THAT’S A WRAP!

Hackers around the world keep upping their game. However, we can thwart them with common sense and a good password manager! Whether you go with iCloud Keychain, 1Password, or another solution, please take the time to learn how these services work and then use them. And, if you are still using a paper notebook — or worse, the Notes or Contacts app — to store your passwords, this goes double for you!

Your friendly neighborhood Tech Daddy

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Leigh AdamsEdgar Johnson