PIN Lock Option Removed in V8

Exciting news! The product team has listened to everyone's feedback and PIN code unlock is coming to 1Password for iOS with a future update. 🎉

You can read more about our plans for PIN code unlock and other awesome new features on our new blog: Building a Better, More Useful 1Password

Thank you to everyone for voicing your need for this feature. 😊

-Dave

@BeccaRE

I'm sorry to hear about your dad and I hope that he's receiving the care that he needs at the hospital and care home.

Thank you for the feedback which I'm happy to pass along to the product team. Have your parents considered setting up an "alternate appearance" for your mom on your dad's iPhone so that she can unlock both the phone and 1Password using her face? You can find more information on Apple's website here: Set up Face ID on iPhone - Apple Support (CA)

I think for both him and my mom it would be easier to be able yo use a PIN code to unlock 1Password than trying to remember his password all the time.

I can definitely see how a PIN code would be useful for caregivers. I do want to mention that a PIN code doesn't replace the account password, even if 1Password did support PIN code unlock in the future your parents would still have to remember their account password for certain situations (such as adding 1Password to a new device, or if the PIN code was entered wrong too many times). Perhaps choosing an easier to remember account password might be another option? We have a guide here: How to choose a good 1Password account password

I look forward to hearing from you. 🙂

-Dave

I would like to add my vote to agree with the other users to bring back the pin option. My dad has a lot of memory and health issues. When he had FaceID turned on, my mom couldn’t help he get into his phone and accounts, which was especially problematic when he was in the hospital and care homes. I think for both him and my mom it would be easier to be able yo use a PIN code to unlock 1Password than trying to remember his password all the time. We recently switched to 1Password from another company that had this feature. I get that there might be some security concerns with using a PIN code but it’s helpful for caregivers of people with memory issues.

@jsglazer

Thank you for the feedback, I've passed it along to the team. 🙂

-Dave

Another vote to add back the pin feature. I don't use FaceID and only the iPhone SE (of current models) supports Touch ID, so touch isn't a realistic option for the IOS community. I completely agree with Mycenius' behavior-related reasons to have a pin. Password managers have to be usable on a daily basis to truly keep us safe. Please don't be dumb like LastPass :)

@Radicchio

Welcome to 1Password! Thank you for the feedback, I've forwarded it to the team. We usually play things pretty close to the chest and new features are only announced when they're finished and ready in a new update. You can find our release notes for each update here: 1Password Releases

In the meantime, you can enable Touch ID or Face ID on your iPhone or iPad and unlock 1Password that way:

• Use Face ID to unlock 1Password on your iPhone or iPad Pro
• Use Touch ID to unlock 1Password on your iPhone or iPad

-Dave

Hi there 1Password Team, I whole-heartedly agree with Mycenius. I recently switched from LastPass and was quite surprised to discover that there is no PIN support. As noted above, it makes mobile use incredibly painful and thus encourages WORSE security habits. (As a family account holder, this is an especially unwelcome obstacle—it’s already hard enough to get everyone on the same page about security…)

Can’t say it better than it has already been said, but want to add my voice to the small but growing chorus here. Would be great to have an update at some point beyond “We’ve passed this along”—like perhaps the reaction from the product team and the likelihood of implementation. (Of course I recognize these things take time.) Thanks for listening!

Mycenius

I had a wonderful Christmas, I hope that you did as well! Thank you for the thoughtful and detailed reply, I've passed along your comments to the product team. 😊

-Dave

ag_mike_d and 1P_Dave - hope you both had a good Christmas? Further to this topic I wanted to add one last case for this with some additional information/revisit some key points on why PIN support should be re-enabled for iOS as a priority; that perhaps you can pass on to the dev team please, to try and escalate this/get some movement (since there have now been numerous updates to v8 but no sign of PINs being reinstated for mobile devices)...

1. Android Users have the same issues (i.e. http://https://1password.community/discussion/132257/please-allow-pin-unlock-in-1p8-android thread in Android) - if you have not read this thread I strongly suggest you do as it is far longer than this one and has numerous examples of how removing PIN function has detrimentally affected users (possibly large numbers), like those with budget devices (no biometrics), disabilities, protective covers on devices, damaged devices, buggy Android biometric software, and more...
2. PIN use is actively supported in Windows Hello by 1Password; yet denied/removed in iOS (& Android) - it seems bizarre that it's effectively been added to Windows at the same time it's been stripped from iOS? Given 1Password's "Mac & iOS" roots I'd have thought macOS and iOS would always have the maximum functionality and best UX? Regardless it's not consistent that it's supported in Windows and not supported in iOS (& Android) and in all cases its a basic standard O/S security function...
3. PIN use is an active and valid security option on iPhones and iPads (and Android devices) and if 1Password integrates with the biometric part of that O/S why does it not with the PIN function (given it does do this on Windows Hello)? Alternately a basic variable option 4-12 or 16 character alphanumeric passcode shouldn't be very hard to make integral to 1PW on all platforms?
4. Using 1Password on a mobile device without PIN support and biometrics is problematic and extremely clunky - it will foster poor security behaviour and bad Master Passwords! I shouldn't need to explain to you gents why. 😉
5. Forcing use of biometrics on users is a privacy risk and arguably reduces the level of security on the device (assuming a user would normally have a longish PIN and/or with some entropy e.g. alpha-numeric). Biometric Fingerprints and Face ID can be used without the persons consent, and the former even if the user is unconscious or lifeless. It also means users may be forced to incriminate themselves by law enforcement (and in places like the US, where 1Password is based, this is actually directly against the intent of the constitution - for an example see this: https://www.wired.com/story/police-unlock-iphone-face-id-legal-rights/) or disclose information unwilling in other situations.

P.S. And yes I happily acknowledge the old PIN format was poor and weak - being restricted to just 4 numeric characters - however I never understood why that was so - if you have that there should be no reason you can't have a variable 4-12 character alphanumeric passcode .

Wouldn't have thought there would be any "vote" involved ag_mike_d given this is about an existing function that was illogically removed in the new version as opposed to a request for a new feature that's never existed previously.

Anyway, is there any update on this, I've not seen any reference in the v8 updates (change logs) to reinstating the PIN functionality for unlocking the app! It's infuriating that an "upgrade" removes key essential features... and almost 5 months on lots of new non-essential 'fluff' has been added to v8 while basic essentials like this and the date format issue that could easily be rectified, if there was a will, have been ignored.

As long as PIN functionality is denied by the 1Password team v8 is unusable on iOS (iPhone/iPad) and is non-compliant with the O/S which provides 4-8 digit PINs as a standard security option.

Looks like I'll be spending the Christmas holidays researching alternative password managers to determine what to migrate to before my subscription expires in a few weeks.