1Password Single or Families?

[jasnw]

I've been using 1Password non-subscription version (6) for years and am looking to switch over to the subscription version. My wife and I have been using a single password database for years, and it's not clear to me what the Families subscription gets me (for another $24/year) that I need. Does the subscription version not allow multiple people (devices) to log into a single multi-vault database, or can we just keep doing what we're doing now with a single subscription?

 

[Brian33]

My family is also using version 6 (family license) and I have similar questions. One feature that I think you get with the subscription version is that 1password provides the vault sharing capability. Right now I am using dropbox to share vaults but would like to get away from that.

I think, but I’m not sure, that you can have multiple people, multiple devices, and multiple vaults, with the family subscription.

 

[jasnw]

What I'm wondering is if the single subscription will do what we need. Provide access to a shared database of passwords in multiple vaults by two people over several devices. I don't see what the Family subscription provides for the addition $2/month. I think it's the ability to have completely separate password databases, but I'm not sure if that's right.

 

[SalisburySam]

Agree, the case for the subscription is unclear. I’ve had 1Password for years and like it, now on v7. Works for all my needs very well. See just confusion with the families or teams.

 

[jasnw]

Agree, the case for the subscription is unclear. I’ve had 1Password for years and like it, now on v7. Works for all my needs very well. See just confusion with the families or teams.

I understand and support the subscription concept for a product like 1Password. They need to spend time and resources keeping current with the every-changing computer security (or lack thereof) environment.

As for the individual vs. family subscription, after reading some of their support blog answers it appears to me that the only reason to get a family subscription for a multiple person situation is if you want independent logins (different master passwords) into independent databases with the ability to share information between the databases as desired. If you just need one database with one shared master password the individual plan works fine. They certainly push the family plan on their blog, but I can see no clear case for it unless you don't trust the other people sharing your passwords.

 

[jasnw]

I've posted a query about this on the AgileBits blog. I'll cross-post any (useful) replies I get.

 

[jasnw]

Got a useful response. Here's what I asked:

"I've been using stand-alone 1Password for many years and am planning to switch to a subscription plan. My wife and I have been sharing a single 1Password database over this time, and I believe that the individual subscription will work for us. We have no need for separate master passwords and separate databases. However, I want to make sure that there's not a difference between the non-subscription 1Password and the individual 1Password subscription that will make it impossible for us to continue sharing a single database on multiple devices."

And this was the response from an AgileBits person:

"No, no differences. You can share the same database on all of your devices using the same Master Password. You each would share the same credentials to access the account."

 

[svenmany]

You can certainly log in as the same person on different computers. Then you would see the same password vaults; the vaults aren't local to the computer. That's how I interpret their response.

You can have (I think 5) people registered with your family. You can have an unlimited number of vaults. You can then assign permissions between the people and the vaults: read-write, read-only, no access. So, in the simple case, you and your wife could have separate credentials and still share a single vault.

I have 5 people in my family. I find it quite convenient to have a combination of shared vaults and individual vaults. I don't want to see the chaotic mess that is all the passwords my wife has ever assigned (and probably discarded). And she doesn't want to be confused by so many passwords that I have; she only cares about a fraction of the passwords I care about.

I don't like subscriptions unless the particular software is heavily used and depended upon. 1Password is one of my most used applications. I think it's my only software subscription. My family depends on its power and flexibility.

 

[Brian33]

Thanks jasnw, for posting AgileBits' response, and svenmany for the additional explanation. I also avoid software subscriptions, but for me also 1Password is one of my most important and used applications. Luckily it's been extremely reliable. Looks like I will go with the family subscription, as I share certain vaults with my children.

 

[Dimwhit]

If it's just you and your wife, and you already share the database, then there's no reason to get the Family subscription. Just the individual.

 

[svenmany]

I prefer the family subscription over the individual one. My reasoning does relate to trust. I trust my entire family with all my accounts, the ones to which my passwords grant access. But, I don't trust my entire family to practice the same discipline that I have in protecting the credentials of those accounts.

I do expect certain family members to be less cautious than I am when walking away from their computers. Therefore, I'd not want particularly critical passwords to be available in their vaults. Also, my wife is not technical. I can't really trust her to not accidentally delete or modify an entry in her vault. I need a level of isolation to protect the family's critical passwords.

Having said that, I have provided my family a disaster recovery process should I become incapacitated. It starts with written instructions. If they follow those, then they can derive my master password and then take over the administration of the family's passwords.

 

[glenthompson]

I've been using 1Password non-subscription version (6) for years and am looking to switch over to the subscription version. My wife and I have been using a single password database for years, and it's not clear to me what the Families subscription gets me (for another $24/year) that I need. Does the subscription version not allow multiple people (devices) to log into a single multi-vault database, or can we just keep doing what we're doing now with a single subscription?

Between my wife and I we have over 1,000 passwords stored in 1Password. We each have access to the other's vaults so we can get to needed passwords in an emergency or similar. I don't want to wade through all her accounts to find what I need so a single vault would be a mess. Kinda like using one email address for both - even though there are couples that do that.