Forum Discussion
Questions about Passkeys
I want to start using passkeys instead of passwords. I've watched many videos and asked AI several questions, but I haven't been able to get all of them answered yet. While I have been using computers since the mid-90s, I am not an IT professional, so please don't tell me to "RTFM.) :-)
1. If I create a passkey and store it in 1Password, will it work across all of my devices? In my case this is a Windows 11 PC, an iphone, and an ipad. I saw one video that mentioned this was a weakness. Is that true?
2. If I choose to use a passkey instead of my master password, and my house burns down losing all of my devices, how will I access 1Password? Will I still need to store the secret key elsewhere?
- Yes, your passkeys stored in 1Password will be available on all the devices on which you run 1Password.
The ability to have a single set of passkeys available on multiple devices versus each device having its own set of passkeys (and thus requiring support for multiple passkeys on each site or service) is a good choice to have, but with some different risks associated with each. For the vast majority of folks either is a good, safe choice. - By "instead of my master password" it sounds like you are considering securing access to your 1Password account with passkey(s) stored outside 1Password which may all be destroyed by one fire. This is a classic example of a risk assessment.
In this case you will still want to follow the advice for securing your Emergency Kit and may have options for account recovery, each of which will give you access to your account after such a disaster without those devices, however you should also follow the standard advice for hardware security keys, i.e. keep a spare or backup somewhere else; in this case with various options for both "hard" and "soft" storage.
- Yes, your passkeys stored in 1Password will be available on all the devices on which you run 1Password.
2 Replies
- Yes, your passkeys stored in 1Password will be available on all the devices on which you run 1Password.
The ability to have a single set of passkeys available on multiple devices versus each device having its own set of passkeys (and thus requiring support for multiple passkeys on each site or service) is a good choice to have, but with some different risks associated with each. For the vast majority of folks either is a good, safe choice. - By "instead of my master password" it sounds like you are considering securing access to your 1Password account with passkey(s) stored outside 1Password which may all be destroyed by one fire. This is a classic example of a risk assessment.
In this case you will still want to follow the advice for securing your Emergency Kit and may have options for account recovery, each of which will give you access to your account after such a disaster without those devices, however you should also follow the standard advice for hardware security keys, i.e. keep a spare or backup somewhere else; in this case with various options for both "hard" and "soft" storage.
This is helpful. Thanks. One of the first computer terms I learned in the 1970s was "off-site storage." I do have a plan for that, but it is for my master password. I don't intend to store passkeys outside of 1PW. I am concerned about recovering the accounts I need to access email on a new phone. But that's research I need to do outside of 1PW.
Thanks for your help, You got me further down the road. I'm marking this answered.
- Yes, your passkeys stored in 1Password will be available on all the devices on which you run 1Password.
