what you need to know
- 1Password is finally rolling out key support to all users in the app.
- Existing users can now generate, save and manage keys for apps that support the feature, joining new accounts they received late last year.
- 1Password claims that its keys are “available everywhere,” and emphasizes that Google Password Manager only supports Android, Chrome, and ChromeOS.
The 1Password app is rolling out a more secure way for existing users to protect their digital lives on Android 14 and above.
According to a blog post, 1Password is bringing key support to all Android phones and tablets running the latest Android 14 software. Users must update the app via the Play Store to get started. What’s more, the application you’re trying to use the key with must also support the feature.
Users can create keys for apps like Amazon, Uber, and WhatsApp. If you have previously saved your account credentials in 1Password’s Watchtower, you will see a pop-up stating that you can switch keys.
1Password is rolling out this feature to target Google’s Keys feature and says its version “works everywhere.” The company mentioned Google’s password manager, emphasizing that it only works on Android, Chrome, and ChromeOS.
The post notes that 1Password’s version is “carefully designed” to run on “every platform,” with support for more browsers including Firefox, Edge, Brave, and Safari in addition to Chrome.
While this 1Password update brings key support to all existing app users, the company says its feature doesn’t extend to the Chrome browser. The post notes that it will need to wait for Google to finalize a new API that will enable it to “create and use” keys on websites on Chrome for Android.
All users of 1Password’s new password feature will arrive a few months after the feature is available exclusively for new accounts. In December, the company expanded its key beta program to offer these new users the opportunity to generate secure private keys. The company also said existing users will get support “next year,” which we saw today.
Mitch Cohen, 1Password’s director of product, explained that keys created through the app contain both private and public keys. The former is said to remain completely hidden, even from 1Password, while the latter is stored on its servers for verification purposes.
Supposedly, even in the event of a data breach, your information remains safe because without the private key, the public key is “useless.”