Experiment #3 - Nearby Items

Hey Definee, great question.

During development we discussed allowing users to set a default Map provider but decided against it for several reasons:

1. Using the system-provided mapping provider was much simpler and less prone to bugs than trying to load maps from third party providers.
2. The built-in mapping APIs are far more complete than third-parties can provide.
3. We didn't want to further complicate an already complicated feature

But your feedback is an excellent reason why we're trying it out in Labs to see when rough edges there are.

Can you tell me a bit more about your platforms and use-cases so I can bring it up with the team?

Is it possible to default to supporting Apple Maps since Google Maps is unavailable in mainland China?

Hi SaturnsEdge,

Thanks for the great feedback. I'm really glad you're enjoying the item location feature. Attaching locations to vaults is a neat idea, and not one we've discussed; I'll toss it around with the team and see if anything comes of it 🙂

We've definitely heard feedback about the way the app opens to the last used tab. A time-out would be a neat way to choose when to jump back Home 🤔

Thanks again for your thoughts and ideas; keep 'em coming!

I really like this feature. Depending on your job this can significantly save time. I have a suggestion I'm not sure has been mentioned. It would be really nice to be able to add a location to a Vault. My Vaults are already separated by location so the ability for it to pop up to the top would be great.

One other thing would be for the mobile app to, after a certain amount of time since last boot, to start back on the home screen. Its nice to start from scratch when its been awhile since my last lookup.

Hey TheKnack, thanks so much for the feedback!

Multiple locations per items is definitely on our minds. This is something that we wanted to support at launch but we narrowed the Labs launch to 1 location to stay focused on nailing the single-location experience at the start.

On iOS you should be seeing a search field at the bottom of the map when you're selecting a location. Let us know if you're not seeing that.

You should be able to add more than one location to each item. Most of the use cases I have for this are for things that apply at more than one location. Examples could include the wifi password for a business with multiple locations, pharmacy or insurance info to use at a pharmacy with multiple locations, loyalty program account info for stores with multiple locations.

There also needs to be a way to search for an address on the map instead of just scrolling around.

Thanks for all these great apple watch suggestions passwordmonkey, we totally agree that Apple watch support would definitely be a great place to leverage nearby items even more.

I'll also log your suggestion around hiding the distance on the items displayed within the mobile app home screen nearby tile. Currently the distance does replace the second line entirely but several have commented that the second line of text on items could provide more useful context than just the distance. We do have some internal concepts around presenting that information differently but no timescale on whether they will be shared further afield yet but we are always looking to improve so welcome your feedback, thanks for taking the time to provide it.

Love this feature. I think the best addition you could make would be to add this feature to Apple Watch. Passwords with locations would automatically appear/disappear from your Apple Watch app main screen as you move around.

A few examples:

At home:
You go to purchase a movie on your TV, it asks for a PIN, quick check of the watch and the PIN is there waiting for you.

At work:
You go to a remote storage facility which requires a PIN to access. Quick check of the watch to access the PIN.

Picking up partner from work:
The car park has a PIN to access. Quick check of the watch to access the PIN.

Visit family:
Father's home has a PIN to access the main door or gate. Quick check of the watch to access the PIN.

Visit sister:
Want to connect to her WiFi. Quick check of the watch to access the password.

There are so many other possibilities.

You could also create a complication for Apple Watch called "Nearby passwords" (just like your other complications). Add that to the watch face, and one tap from the watch face to access Nearby passwords.

On the phone app, one small change you could make is to hide the distance (shown beneath the password in the "Nearby" section on the apps home screen). I can't think of where this would be useful, as the distance shown isn't going to help us find the items we're close to, and when at home I don't need to know that I'm allegedly 3m from my "TV PIN" and 6m from "Wi-Fi password". It also relies on very accurate inputting of location which is often not possible.

mrpmartin it is great to hear that you are finding it useful, thanks so much for saying so.

Just want to say thanks for this feature - it is incredibly useful! Y'all are doing wonderful work 💪