Google Password Manager vs. 1Password : r/1Password
Excerpt
“Convince me why I should keep 1Password.”
“Convince me why I should keep 1Password.”
You shouldn’t, unless you want to, then you should.
What a honest comment that OP could make.
You make a very good point. I read an article the other day about password managers, and it stated basically the same thing. The big 3: Microsoft, Google and Apple have copious amounts of money to invest in security. They hire the very best cybersecurity experts and provide the best cutting edge security. They cannot afford to get hacked, and I ask myself the same thing, especially since I use Android and a Pixel 7. Why not use Google’s password manager? Especially since it is ever evolving into a better product.
For me, Google’s password manager, while secure, doesn’t provide all the functionality that 1Password has for instance . It is not as mature as 1Password. My biggest problem is that Google’s password manager is tied to your account. That means technically I have a login and my wife has to store the same login for a single account. For instance, if I “happened” to have a Netflix account, and I shared that login with my family (5 people), if I were using Google’s password manager, each person would have to store the login individually. If any of those 5 people were to change the password, all the others would have to change their individual passwords tied to their Google account. By sharing a single password in 1Password, if the password is changed, everyone has access to it. Plus, a password manager adds many other benefits like secure notes, and other records not related to just passwords. However, if it were just me and I only had a single account and not a family, I would certainly consider it.
Password manager companies are going to have to stay ahead of the game if they expect to remain a viable business.
finely a useful reply in reddit with no hate
The secure notes I used with LP often and would miss with Google. Thank you for your detailed and thoughtful reply. Edit, I want to add that I never used LastPass on my phone except to get something from a secure note since I help some folks who never remember their login info and I keep it for them. I’m going install the Android app to see if I can use it the same way as I used LP.
it is tied to the browser(!) and saved in and syncs with a google account… if you log out, the passes stay in the browser…
why not everybody has a personal google account with personal passwords and the family has a common family google account only for family passwords (and common google drive 15gb free)… on the common family devices you have a family profile in the chrome browser where you sync via family google account the common passwords… easy peasy, you have 3 family devices with netflix and co and in the 3 chrome browsers you have your easy access with the family profile / common passwords…
if new password, you have to sync to all 3 devices but it is as easy as entering the family google account pass on each device… it can be 3-4 english words that is enough… or have your phone as 2nd factor and “manage your family google account” so that you do not have to use the 2nd factor on the 3 common devices… you can just have this pass: commonFamilycommon3, it is more secure than any other since 2nd factor coming from other sources than the 3 browsers on your devices which must be protected with biometrics of the family :)
Way too complicated. Adding another google account means potential email sync, maps, contacts, and everything else that comes with it, not to mention trying to keep that secure while everyone has the password. Not practical, safe or secure.
If you are on your browser and logged in as you, and you need the “shared” password from the shared Google account, you would have to open another browser, log into it and then transfer it or copy and paste it into the other account you are logged into, and then that one will prompt you to save it, which results in duplicates, etc. Bad idea
Keep using Google Password Manager if that works for you.
Use Google password manager if that’s what you like. We’re not paid to shill for 1Password
If you only want a basic password manager for website logins, and Google’s is working for you, then that’s fine.
However, 1Password is significantly more mature and provides a lot of additional features that may or may not be useful to you.
These are some of the features I use the most:
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TOTP (2FA) codes for everything
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Extra fields for things like Security Questions, PINs, and whatever else I need beyond usernames/passwords
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SSH keys
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Documents and other attachments. (e.g. scanned copies of passports, licences and other important documents)
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Bank account and credit/debit card details
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Masked Emails, integration with Fastmail.
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Password auto-filling in Terminal and macOS system dialogs asking for passwords.
This is where I land on the topic. Funny enough, I was actually using Google Chrome as my “password manager” before I moved to 1Password. This was before Google was really advertising it as a “password manager,” and the password generator was behind a flag (and for good reason, I ended up with several duplicates).
I don’t really think there’s anything wrong with the basic offerings out there, provided that they come from reputable sources. Google is a reputable source. But there are things that 1Password offers that other larger companies do not (and sometimes cannot) provide.
Ultimately, this decision comes down to what you’re looking for. You should pick whatever works best for you. 1Password aims to be what works best.
As an aside, if you’re finding things to be difficult, I’d strongly recommend sending a message in to support@1password.com for some help. This is another nice benefit that I’m not sure is offered by larger companies.
You usually cannot trust a private company to deliver a service forever. Whatever if it’s google or 1Password.
True. They just recently added the password generator, so maybe that’s a step in the positive direction.
I’m wondering the same - the major difference for me is that if someone has my laptop, Chrome is automatically signed into Google, so anyone could look up passwords in chrome. (I know, I’m a big dumbdumb for not locking my PC). The 1Password extension requires the master password each time (or as often as you like).
The only other thing I would miss is sharing password links with an expiry timer.
Do any of the big three password managers support 2fa as well as 1P? Or security questions? 1P has revolutionized how I use both.
Do you mean 2FA to access the password manager front door? Or keep track of the 2FA seeds/OTPs for the managed accounts?
1Password has both. I know google has Google Authenticator for the OTP, but haven’t ever looked at Google Passwords.
I prefer transparency in what the PM provider does and doesn’t know, how they’re protecting my data, etc. Maybe Google is transparent? IDK but I’d want to understand that fully before giving them all of my passwords.
1Password has both. I know google has Google Authenticator for the OTP, but haven’t ever looked at Google Passwords.
My big problem with Google Authenticator is that it doesn’t have any backup / restore options. Sure I can scan QR codes to transfer… but what if I loose my phone?
It also restricts backups… which I almost found out the hard way when I was buying a new phone yesterday. Even though I connected a USB cable, hit copy data, and provided biometric authentication… it still didn’t copy my TOTP codes over.
Agree about Google Authenticator. I use an app on IOS called OTP Auth, which allows backups and also displays OTPs on Apple Watch. TBH, this is my only reason for owning an Apple Watch, the ability to have OTPs on my wrist is great.
I’m new to 1Password and have yet to see how it handles OTPs. If it’s as good as OTP Auth, I’ll be happy.
I mean that 1P stores the otp seed with my login and then puts the otp on the clipboard for me automatically. The flow is so much better than with a separate authenticator app.
How does 1P handle otp on login into the app? I’m still using authy to hold my 1P seed. Is there a better way?
I like the same functionality and use it myself and yes it works so much more seemlessly, allowing you to login to sites that require a password and a TOTP with just 1 click.
HOWEVER do remember that keeping your TOTP generation (and in my case backup codes) in 1P does represent a slightly increased security risk. It’s all your eggs in one basket. Were 1P to suffer an LP style breach and hackers get a copy of your secured vault, then if they ever managed to decrypt it, you’d be completely screwed. A small risk perhaps, but nevertheless a higher risk than if you keep your TOTPs in a separate authenticator app.
Yes, all good points. I’ve learned a lot in the past few months. I got a Yubikey and use that to get into 1P and all of my high-security sites.
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Google Answers, Google Base, Google Checkout, Google Code Search, Google Directory, Google Goggles, Google+, Google Hangouts, Inbox by Gmail, Google News & Weather, Google Labs, Google Notebook, Google Offers, Google Reader, Google Spaces, Google Sync, Google Video, Google Wave, Google Desktop, Google Gears, Google Browser Sync, Google Now, Google Health, Picasa, QuickOffice, Google Talk, Google Toolbar, Google Stadia, Angular JS… go ahead and use it, for now.
What happens when/if you lose access to your Google account?
Google Passwords now support on device encryption. Which means for sync you provide a key which will be used to encrypt the passwords locally before uploading to google. So on any new device if you login to google you need to provide that key as well to decrypt them. It makes it even more safer now since even if you acc is compromised your passwords wont. Something in lines of what password managers do to not store your master password.
With password managers becoming expensive everyday and google providing a similar free solution why not use that. Also if you are into apple eco system fully you can always use keychain.
People can gain access to ALL of your passwords on Google even with 2 factor enabled. I personally been using 1password and I keep it entirely seperate from everything. That means no chrome extensions, disconnected from all clip board apps etc. Imo you do give up some security with convenience, it just is what it is.
- 2FA built in
- Family Licensing
- Sharing of crucial passwords and information should something happen to me (I have a wife and kids)
- Works on any browser
- Fastmail Masked Email integration. My actual email does not exist in anyone’s database but Fastmail’s thanks to this. No issues with spam or phishing. If phishing becomes an issue, I throw away that address.
Good for thought: are you better equipped to handle your key and data than these providers?? BTW, you do have the key to your data. It’s the main password for your account mixed with your account id, mixed with MFA. 1password can’t decrypt your data. Go check the details on their architecture. It’s pretty neat.