1Password is the most important app on any device for me. If you use it properly, it will be to you as well. Over the years, 1Password on iOS has gone from a passable companion app to a full fledged password manager to one of the most important apps you can install on your iOS device. I was honestly shocked at how much Apple introduced in iOS 8 at WWDC. 3rd party keyboards, extensions, and Touch ID access to third party apps were by far the biggest things announced that day. Touch ID support in 1Password was obviously the first thing that sprung to mind at WWDC for me. Today Agilebits release 1Password 5, a monumental step ahead for 1Password and online security in general.
1Password 5 brings loads of amazing new features to the app and to iOS 8 in general. 1Password has a new Action extension that other apps can make use of when users sign up or sign in and best of all, it works in Safari on iOS. The iOS extension works just like the browser extension on Mac or Windows. Tap the share button and select 1Password and enter your master password, followed by selecting the account for the website or service. That’s all it takes. The implementation is awesome. It saves both time and the annoyance of dealing with copy pasting across apps or using the in built browser in 1Password instead of Safari. A lot of apps already had 1Password buttons on their login screens but with the extension, it feels more cohesive now. The extension can generate and save passwords for that specific app service right from within the app. All iOS apps can and should make use of the extension they have made available and I hope every major app and service gets 1Password extension support.
The most noteworthy new feature in 1Password 5 will affect iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, and iPhone 6 Plus users the most. Touch ID and device passcode support. You don’t need to worry about people catching a glimpse of your master password in public anymore. Touch ID to unlock is amazing. I can’t wait to get a new iPhone just for this. iCloud sync has also been fully rewritten to make use of CloudKit and will be available when Yosemite ships. If you use iCloud sync on this app or any other app, make sure you read the FAQ by developers on iCloud Drive and its implications on syncing. The situation is horrible because developers are going to have to deal with people switching to iCloud Drive and wondering why data isn’t syncing across iOS and OS X.
1Password 5 is now a freemium app, but you don’t need to raise your pitchforks. There are no ads like some other password managers and the core functionality will be available for free to all new users. Existing users get the Pro features for free while for new users, the Pro features are available as an in-app purchase for $9.99. Pro features include multiple vault support, all category types, custom fields in items and folder & tag organization. This is a landmark move for security on iOS. With the barrier of entry gone, hopefully more people will start taking passwords seriously and relying on the best password manager out there instead of sticky notes or the Notes.app. If you’ve used the app for even a week properly, you probably already know that it is more than worth the old asking price times ten. Now that most of the core functionality of 1Password on iOS is free, you have no excuse to not use it anymore. 1Password 5 is available on the App Store for Free, with a $9.99 IAP to unlock the Pro features.