1Password Review 2024: Is This Password Manager Safe?

Tons of Unique Features for Password Security

1Password offers a variety of features to help you organize your passwords and other credentials. Apart from the core features like password generator, auto-fill and auto-save, password auditing, and dark web monitoring, it also offers a unique set of tools.

Some unique features that 1Password has are — Multiple Vaults, Privacy cards, Passkeys, and Travel Mode features. This is in addition to the solid security features that protect the content of your vault. However, it doesn’t have a VPN like Dashlane. A VPN lets you encrypt your internet connection, protecting you from hackers.

Multiple Vaults

With 1Password, you can create multiple vaults to store your data. This is pretty helpful if you prefer to organize your passwords by categories for easy navigation. During testing, I created vaults for Work, Finances, Streaming, and others. On the iOS app, you can even create “standalone vaults” that aren’t accessible on other devices — a nifty feature.

You can store different types of credentials in your 1Password vault. This includes logins, passwords, notes, medical records, social security numbers, ID cards, bank accounts, and software licenses. Plus, you can create API credentials, Passport details, database logins, emails, server access information, crypto private keys, and driver’s licenses.

All you have to do to add a password or any sensitive information is click on the “New Item” button at the app’s top-right.

1Password’s item history feature allows you to view and restore previous versions of saved items. This ensures that if you mistakenly edit or delete an entry, you can easily recover it. This feature acts as a safety net, allowing vital data to be retrieved even after changes have been made. 1Password has a Recently Deleted folder that keeps deleted items for 30 days.

If you subscribe to the 1Password Families plan, you can create “Shared” vaults that only authorized individuals can access. You can also set permissions for members to view or edit the credentials in the vault. For instance, you can create a shared fault for streaming, but only parents can view the linked credit cards.

Watchtower

Watchtower in 1Password monitors your saved login details for potential vulnerabilities. It alerts you about weak, reused, or compromised passwords and flags any accounts tied to websites that have suffered breaches. It also alerts you to the approaching expiration dates of credit cards, driver’s licenses, identity cards, and passports.

This information undergoes local verification on your device, preserving your confidentiality and protection. The proactive nature of this feature assists in sustaining good password health. During testing, Watchtower flagged 12 reused passwords in my vault. Plus, it displays a security score, which helps you identify the strength of your overall password profile.

Watchtower constantly updates its data breach monitor, tracking the latest breaches. It sources information from Haveibeenpwned, a site maintaining a database of passwords from past breaches.

One of Watchtower’s notable capabilities is alerting you when a website you’ve saved starts supporting passkeys. This ensures you’re always updated and can take advantage of heightened security measures as soon as they’re available.

Overall, Watchtower acts as a vigilant guard for your online security. Beyond basic password health checks, it proactively informs you when a saved site starts supporting passkeys. This real-time feedback empowers you to constantly update and optimize your online security, staying a step ahead of potential vulnerabilities.

Passkeys

1Password’s passkeys feature is a leap forward in online security. Passkeys are cryptographically secure tokens that bring a new layer of protection to your accounts. With passkeys, there’s no need to remember complex passwords, and it’s much more secure.

Instead of relying solely on strings of characters that can be vulnerable to brute-force attacks, passkeys use a combination of biometric data and secure tokens. This multi-layered approach significantly heightens the security of your accounts on supported sites.

Passkeys aren’t limited by device or browser. With 1Password, they integrate seamlessly across major operating systems and popular web browsers, offering flexibility without compromising security. You can use passkeys on 1Password’s beta browser extension for Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, and Brave. It also works on Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows.

In my testing, I used the Microsoft Edge extension to experiment with 1Password’s passkeys on WebAuthn and Best Buy. The process proved to be smooth. Following the sign-up, I was guided through a straightforward setup process. 1Password integrated effortlessly with both platforms, allowing quick and secure access with the passkeys.

Android 14 and subsequent versions support passkeys. On iOS devices, they’re already working, but during my Safari and Chrome tests, I was limited to the iCloud Keychain. This meant I couldn’t access the passkeys from my 1Password vault on the iPhone. However, passkeys are available on the desktop versions of 1Password for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Finally, there’s 1Password’s Passage feature. Recognizing that change can be daunting, especially when it concerns something as critical as password management, Passage offers an intuitive bridge. It assists users in transitioning from their current password-based security to the more robust Passkeys system.

Passage offers 2 solutions for businesses. On the one hand, the Passkey Complete lets you move your entire login process to Passkeys. Conversely, Passkey Flex enables you to integrate a combination of passwords and passkeys. Overall, 1Password provides a simple way to use passkeys to protect your accounts.

Travel Mode

1Password’s Travel Mode is designed to hide sensitive information while crossing borders. It is helpful for journalists, researchers, political refugees, and people who want to keep sensitive information private. Plus, if you travel with sensitive company logins, you can hide them from prying eyes.

Travel Mode automatically hides all credentials in your 1Password vault, except those you mark as “Safe for Travel.” You can only activate Travel Mode from your 1Password web account. To test it, I logged in to my account, navigated to my profile, and toggled on the travel icon under “Travel Mode.” All the passwords in my vault were hidden after that.

1Password’s Travel Mode is also invaluable for teams and businesses, allowing you to secure sensitive data when traveling. Admins can easily designate which vaults are “travel safe” for employee accounts, ensuring that only essential data is accessible during travel.

Overall, Travel Mode is a unique feature for individuals and businesses who want to hide sensitive information while on the go.

Privacy Cards

1Password’s Privacy Cards feature is designed to safeguard your online transactions. With it, you can create virtual cards that serve as a buffer between your actual card details and online merchants like Amazon, protecting your financial data from potential threats and breaches.

To utilize this feature, simply integrate 1Password with Privacy.com. Once linked, the option to create a Privacy Card appears within 1Password. I’ve observed how it generates a unique card number for every transaction, shielding your primary account details.

What stands out is its flexibility. You can set spending limits on each card or make it merchant-specific, meaning you can only use it with a designated seller. In my testing, I appreciated how this gave me more control over my online transactions. Plus, you can also create a single-use Privacy Card.

However, Privacy Cards have their limitations, as they are exclusive to US residents. Additionally, their compatibility is restricted to Mastercard and Visa debit cards. This means credit cards or cards from other providers won’t work with it.

In summary, using Privacy Cards ensures a higher degree of safety during online transactions. Not only does it mitigate the risks associated with data breaches, but it also provides a seamless payment experience.

Masked Emails

The Masked Email feature in 1Password protects your email privacy. It generates anonymous email addresses, acting as a barrier between your real email and the services you sign up for, reducing spam and safeguarding your identity.

When you register on a new site, 1Password offers the option to generate a Masked Email. I tested it on a few sites, and a unique email alias was generated each time. This email goes with a [random.address]@fastmail.com address.

The beauty of this approach is twofold. Firstly, it prevents exposure to your actual email, reducing the risk of phishing. Secondly, it helps keep spam at bay. If one of your masked emails starts receiving spam, you know which site compromised your details.

Lastly, using Masked Email doesn’t mean managing multiple inboxes. Everything reroutes to your primary email. So, while you enjoy its protection, your experience remains streamlined and clutter-free.

Overall, 1Password Masked Emails (Fastmail) is a great feature to protect your emails. Unfortunately, Fastmail doesn’t work with your existing 1Password subscription. You’ll need to subscribe to a separate plan. The good news is that you can try Fastmail risk-free using the 30-day free trial.

Other Password Management Features

1Password also has all the core password management features. These include:

• Password Generator — The Password Generator in 1Password crafts strong, unique passwords for you. When I tried creating a new account, it offered me a complex password, eliminating the struggle of thinking up a secure one myself.
  
  1Password lets you generate a mix of words, numbers, and characters

  This feature assists in defending against brute force attacks, as every password it generates is both random and intricate. By using this, you fortify your accounts with passwords that are tough to crack.

• Auto-fill and Auto-Save — Navigating the web becomes easier with 1Password’s Auto-fill and Auto-Save. During my browsing sessions, it detected login forms and promptly filled in my credentials.
  You can autofill login and payment fields for various websites

  It also noticed when I created new accounts or changed passwords, offering to save these details. You no longer have to remember every password; it handles that for you, making your online experience smooth and secure.

• Password Sharing — Sharing passwords can be risky, but with 1Password, it’s secure and straightforward. When I needed to share a password, I sent it directly through its interface in a few seconds without risking exposure using the Password Secure Sharing Tool (Psst!).

Psst! allows you to create a link to share your passwords. By default, this link expires in 7 days, but you can adjust its lifespan to 1 hour, 1 day, 14 days, or 30 days. Additionally, you can specify access for an individual or a select group.

Overall, 1Password’s core password management features worked excellently, allowing me to organize all my credentials securely. Top password managers on the market offer similar features, but I’m impressed with the unique options that 1Password offers.