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Subscription model feature request

virtualshock
virtualshock
Community Member

Hi- I currently use the standalone license for 1Password 6 and am thinking about switching to a subscription model for 1Password 7.

I was wondering if you have considered or would consider a subscription model where each time a subscriber pays an amount equal to or maybe a little more than the cost of a standalone license during the course of their subscription, they receive one standalone license (choice of platform) for the previous version of the product. This way, the subscriber pays for the benefit of having the membership and to fund future development of the product, but if that benefit or future development is no longer wanted, they at least get to keep the thing whose development they already funded. From my point of view, this would remove the only down side of the software subscription model.

Thanks!


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

Comments

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    @virtualshock: Thanks for getting in touch! It's certainly an interesting idea, but I'm not sure what the value would be for a previous version, since that would either already be out of date or may quickly become so. While I appreciate your willingness to support us, it really sounds like you'd just prefer to purchase a standalone license. And since that's something we already offer, maybe it makes sense to stick with that if you're not ready to make the transition to a 1Password membership. There are a lot of complexities with developing and supporting something like you're asking for, so that even were that possible (we cannot give out "licenses" for many of the platforms that are included in a 1Password membership, after all), it doesn't seem like it would be wise. We'd have to do a lot to make that happen, even in limited fashion, and our customers, most of which haven't asked for anything like this, would have another option to try to navigate. It's pretty complex already since we've kept the standalone purchase option after introducing memberships, and adding a third "hybrid" one would make things even harder for everyone.

    Can you elaborate more on this perceived "downside"? It seems to me that if you take the time to evaluate a 1Password membership during the trial period you can see right away if it's a good fit for you. If not, then stick with standalone. But if it is a good fit for you, it's just going continue to get better. Even if you don't use all of the features now, or all that we add in the future right away (I sure don't), it's all included, so you can use the ones you find useful, and the others are there for you if and when you need them later on. For example, I didn't use any of the 1Password Families benefits when we launched it, but I've since gotten many of my loved ones on board. And even before that, I got plenty of value from it just because of how much easier it was to manage devices and vaults. I get the impulse to get the most out of a product or service, but sometimes it's better to just enjoy it. I wasn't about to make a bunch of babies just to fill up the the user slots in my account. ;)

  • virtualshock
    virtualshock
    Community Member

    @brenty Thanks for the reply. I do agree that the membership is a good deal and I will give it a try.

    The down side to the subscription model I alluded to is that unlike with a standalone license, where you pay up front and get a product that will work exactly as it did when you paid for it no matter how long you keep it (ignoring the fact that software does become incompatible over a long time), with a subscription you lose functionality as soon as you stop paying. This makes sense (to me, anyway) for features that cost money to support, like storing vaults on your servers or using your resources for synching data, etc. But where it makes less sense (again, to me) is when it comes to a binary that I download and that runs locally. I would like to think that once I pay whatever it cost to cover the work to develop it, I should have the option to continue using any features that don’t require “the cloud” even if the subscription lapses. Of course, I would not expect any more updates or support or anything, just like with the standalone license.

    In reality, as long as the 1Password subscription continues to provide a worthwhile service, I would just continue subscribing and the above point would be moot. But what I describe above is the one thing that I dislike about the standard susbscription model for software (rather than services). I understand that my suggestion may not make sense to implement for any number of good reasons, but I figured it’s worth throwing the idea out there.

  • What you're proposing adds a layer of complexity that I don't think we're going to take on. It would require that someone who wished to stop subscribing to move their data to a standalone vault. This can certainly be done, but generally is something that requires some level of technical skill / understanding. While I'm sure you and I could handle it, imagine what position someone less technical is going to be in. You can already do that today, but would need to purchase a standalone license separate from your membership fees to do so.

    Even within a major version (e.x. v6) there are ongoing efforts every day that all people using that product version benefit from, including in-version updates, technical and customer support, etc. 1Password is a full time job for a steadily growing number of people. We want to continue to attract the kind of people who can continue to deliver the high quality of service and support that customers have come to expect from us, and as such we need to incentivize people to subscribe and continue to use our services.

    Ben

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    @virtualshock: Indeed, in that vein it's also important that we keep these things in mind:

    you pay up front and get a product that will work exactly as it did when you paid for it no matter how long you keep it (ignoring the fact that software does become incompatible over a long time)

    I don't believe we can ignore that, and this isn't quite how 1Password works. It won't be compatible forever of course, but you may have noticed that we often add features and compatibility for new OS and browser versions. And most people expect to just be able to keep using it even if they update their OS or buy a new device.

    I would not expect any more updates or support or anything, just like with the standalone license.

    That may be true of your expectations, but I think it's important to recognize that isn't the case for most people, nor is it how we operate; we support all of our customers, regardless of what or when they purchased. While updates for specific versions necessarily have to end at some point, we're always here to help people using older versions in any way we can.

    So, ultimately, since these are things that are expected of 1Password by both our users and ourselves, I think it makes sense that 1Password.com memberships reflect that reality, both with what customers get, but also with how they support us for the work we do. Cheers! :)

This discussion has been closed.