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Neonlinx's avatar
Neonlinx
New Contributor
3 months ago

Biometrics to unlock dektop app and browser's extension

Hi,

I am a new user (I used a well-known competitor for years) and I am very happy to have passed to 1password.

I have been testing it only for a few days but I would already have some things that I would like to clarify. When I start the computer (we are talking about a personal computer in my house on which I don't even use the suspension and above all I do not use PIN or Windows hello nor biometry) the desktop app starts but is (rightly) blocked. If I have not even misunderstood the extension for the browser remains blocked until the desktop app does not unlock via password, is it correct? I was wondering if it is possible (but I think I understood that for the moment it is not possible) to unlock the desktop app through the biometry of my phone ... practically when I want to unlock the desktop app, a request for unlock should arrive through biometry on my phone from the 1password app and therefore unlock the desktop app. It would also be useful that this also operated for the browser extension regardless of the desktop app. Doing it this way, as a further security requirement, an option could be added to make sure that the requests for unlocking are geo-limit, that is, that requests from abroad also require the password or a confirmation from an email.

Maybe a solution like this is in development? Because I believe that always type the password, however, exposes risks, such as keylogger or even simply prying looks ...

browser extension
discussion
feature request
ios
windows

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  • 1P_Dave's avatar
    1P_Dave
    Icon for Moderator rankModerator
    3 months ago

    Hello Neonlinx! 👋

    Thanks for reaching out! It's not possible to unlock 1Password on your Windows PC using biometrics on your phone. Why not use biometrics on your PC, via Windows Hello, to unlock 1Password on your Windows PC? You can enable that feature using this guide: 


    When you use Windows Hello to unlock 1Password, you'll be able to unlock both the desktop app and 1Password in the browser at the same time. Let me know if there's a reason why this won't work for you.

    Doing it this way, as a further security requirement, an option could be added to make sure that the requests for unlocking are geo-limit, that is, that requests from abroad also require the password or a confirmation from an email.

    Can you tell me a little more about the threat that you're trying to protect against? No one can access your 1Password account from a new device without knowing both your account password and Secret Key. And you can further protect your account by using two-factor authentication: Turn on two-factor authentication for your 1Password account

    I look forward to hearing from you.

    -Dave

    • Neonlinx's avatar
      Neonlinx
      New Contributor
      3 months ago

      Hi,

      thanks for reply and sorry for the delay....

      Honestly, I do not use Windows Hello for several reasons but above all because honestly I'm too lazy to type the PIN every time (which practically is the same thing as typing a password)...and not having webcams or anything I cannot use biometry. This, however, is also for the fact that I live alone and I do not need to "protect" my computer from access by other people. In addition, I use the home computer very little and for very few things so I don't need a high level of security; for more "delicate" things I always use the computer at work or the notebook on which I have a Linux distro.

      With regard to your last question ... As mentioned, I have no particular needs, I said it only as a hypothesis, a suggestion.

      The request to add a notification on the 1password phone app to unlock the desktop app through biometry, it derived from the fact that many people like me still use very old computers without the possibility of having the biometry available.... and many are lazy like me and leave Windows without passwords and without Windows Hello (which honestly I know well to be a bad thing).

      However, I must say that after 10 days of testing I am very satisfied with 1password!

      • 1P_Dave's avatar
        1P_Dave
        Icon for Moderator rankModerator
        2 months ago

        Thank you for the feedback! While I'm not sure if building a secure way to unlock 1Password for Windows using a mobile device is possible, I've shared your request with the team.

        -Dave