iOS App fill-in

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Do I understand correctly (after investing hours trying to set up new passwords on my Mac then sync to my iPhone) that unless the app I am using (Amazon, USAA, CapitalOne to name a few) is on the very short list of apps you work with, that I can't use 1Password to login? I must say if this is true, I'm very disappointed. What is the point then? Many apps now use a thumb to log in and I'm fine with that but now that I've changed passwords on every account, I still have to go into the app with the new password for the first time. Is there an easy way to fill these in from the 1PW app? Thanks!


1Password Version: Not Provided
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: Not Provided
Sync Type: Not Provided

Comments

  • littlebobbytables
    littlebobbytables
    1Password Alumni
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    Hi @tracyp,

    On iOS you would be correct. We have an iOS Safari extension to allow filling into web pages but once you get past iOS Safari it is up to each individual app to add support for our general extension - it's just how extensions on iOS work.

    Prior to iOS 8 there was no support in either iOS Safari or other apps because there was no extension API. Apple introduced an API in iOS 8 but were quite careful about how they did so because they wanted to maintain the level of security they keep on their mobile platform. They introduced a small handful of extension types. Anybody can create an iOS Safari extension and iOS Safari will allow it once the user has manually enabled it. There are one or two other general types that an app can support but if an extension doesn't fit into a very narrow definition then support for each extension must be manually added to the app in question by those developers. As our extension needs a way to supply a username and password to the app calling the extension we fall into the category of requiring explicit support added. I don't know if the Apps ❤ 1Password list is exhaustive or not but it does list a number of iOS apps known to support our extension.

    If you want to use an iOS app that doesn't support 1Password's iOS extension and need to log in using a now complex password your best option is the use of copy and paste. While it may feel like somewhat of an inconvenience a complex password that you need to copy and paste will keep you more secure than an easy to remember and type password that can likely be compromised via brute force.

    If you tap and hold on any field in a Login item you should find a small menu appears with the ability to copy the contents of that field into the iOS clipboard. A tap and hold on the empty field you wish to fill should bring up the option of pasting.

  • tracyp
    tracyp
    Community Member
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    Thank you for taking the time to educate me. I don't necessarily like the answer but at least I understand a bit better. I guess I just need all apps to work with Touch ID and once I set them up via copy/paste, it won't be a big deal :-)

  • littlebobbytables
    littlebobbytables
    1Password Alumni
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    Hi @tracyp,

    Thank you for your understanding and I do genuinely mean that. There have been many occasions during my time here at AgileBits where I've found the key is to be forthright and that even if it isn't what somebody hoped to hear that a full explanation can make it more palatable. I believe it's when something appears as a black box and doesn't meet the expectations that frustration most commonly occurs and I sympathise. Obviously it would be much better for us if 1Password could work in a way that was much more intuitive and in this case where there was a way we could interact with all iOS apps without relying on individual developers. I don't know if such a time will come though as Apple's job is to balance various forces while doing their best to keep the operating system secure and even if it makes life tougher for us on occasion I can't blame them for that focus.

    Hopefully most of the pain will just surround the initial setup/change of passwords and after that things settle down. In the end though you will hopefully feel a lot more safe knowing that with 1Password assisting, a single site being compromised won't leave others wide open and that brute force techniques won't have much effect with your new password choices.

  • Manaburner
    Manaburner
    Community Member
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    Hi @tracyp I know what you're talking about and I am also annoyed that not more apps are adding 1Password support (those heathens ;-).
    When I need to fill in a password in such an app, I have built a little workaround using an app called "Launch Center Pro (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/launch-center-pro-shortcut/id532016360?mt=8)". Besides other useful features, it has a notification center widget that allows you to start an app. Here I have placed a link to the 1Password app on my iPhone.
    Now when I have to fill in a password, my workflow is this

    • I'm in the app that wants me to login
    • I swipe down from the top of the screen to show the notification center and then I swipe to the right, to show the widgets.
    • here I have the "Launch Center" widget as the first list entry and I can open 1Password from here
    • while in 1P, I search for the login item needed for the app and copy the password to the clipboard.
    • now the neat thing is (when you have iOS 9 at least) that you can use the "back to previous app" shortcut on the top left of the screen, where you can paste the password and are good to go

    I know that's not as smooth as having direct 1P integration, but it's something.

  • matthew_ag
    matthew_ag
    1Password Alumni
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    Hey @Manaburner,

    Thanks for sharing that workflow, hopefully it will help other users of 1Password on iOS.

    Best regards,
    Matthew

  • Manaburner
    Manaburner
    Community Member
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    Btw. Launch Center is currently on Sale for 99 Cents :-)

  • matthew_ag
    matthew_ag
    1Password Alumni
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    Thanks @Manaburner! Hopefully it'll help the people reading.

This discussion has been closed.