Does each family member have their own master password to the family account? And their vaults?

kurt.grossman
kurt.grossman
Community Member

Hi!

Does each family member have their own master password to the family account and/or just to their vaults?

If possible, how does a family user (non-organizer) set-up their own username and password for their vault(s)?

What is the purpose of a family user's (non-organizer) personal password.com account--the one associated with their user-name and password? Other than the Emergency Kit, I don't know how to use it.

Basically, I'm not clear on the difference/relationships between the different types of accounts and vaults (the family and user's in the family) , and the passwords (master or personal) used to log in to the web account vs the app (on Mac, iPad, iPhone).

Is there a manual? Sorry--I've looked, but missed this information online.

Thank you!!!

Kurt
(long time 1Password user having just switch to the family account)


1Password Version: 6.8.6
Extension Version: Not Provided
OS Version: 10.12.6
Sync Type: 1Password Account (password.com)
Referrer: forum-search:master passwords family

Comments

  • Lars
    Lars
    1Password Alumni

    @kurt.grossman - Great questions!

    Does each family member have their own master password to the family account and/or just to their vaults?

    Yes, separate Master Passwords and Secret Keys for each family member. Each person's Private vault is viewable/usable only by that person, but everyone has access to the family-wide Shared vault

    If possible, how does a family user (non-organizer) set-up their own username and password for their vault(s)?

    The person who first creates the 1Password Families account becomes, by default, the Family Organizer. That person then invites other family members to join the account. Each invited person gets an email from us (AgileBits) on behalf of the Family Organizer, saying "so-and-so would like you to join (name of 1Password Families account)," and including a link and instructions. Part of the process of signing up is choosing their own Master Password and being assigned their own, randomly-generated Secret Key.

    What is the purpose of a family user's (non-organizer) personal password.com account--the one associated with their user-name and password? Other than the Emergency Kit, I don't know how to use it.

    I'm not sure I understand this question. Can you clarify?

    Basically, I'm not clear on the difference/relationships between the different types of accounts and vaults (the family and user's in the family) , and the passwords (master or personal) used to log in to the web account vs the app (on Mac, iPad, iPhone).

    There are three types of 1Password accounts: Individual accounts, 1Password Families, and 1Password Teams. If you're using 1Password in a family environment, everyone's needs should be covered by the single (overall) 1Password Families account. There should be no need for an additional Individual account to act as a "personal" account, since the Private vault each member of the 1Password Families account has can be used for private/personal items. Some people (like me) are members of a 1Password Families account at home and also members of a 1Password Teams account for work.

    The default vaults in a 1Password Families account are: a Private vault for each member that only they can access, and the Shared vault that everyone in the Family can access. From there, Family Organizers can create as many additional vaults as they desire/need -- for example, in my 1Password Families account, I store things everyone needs like the family Netflix password and the garage door codes in the Shared vault, but I have also created another vault called "Parents" which is restricted to only myself and my wife, where we store things like tax information, credit cards, etc. -- stuff the kids don't need.

    If you're using your 1Password.com account in a native app (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android), the Master Password there should be the same as the one you use to sign into your account in a browser. This MAY not be the case if you still have older, local (standalone) vaults or you belong to multiple accounts. In such cases, whichever vault was set up first in the application will be the Master Password for that application. Let us know if you have any follow-up questions.

  • rosco345
    rosco345
    Community Member

    What is the purpose of a family user's (non-organizer) personal password.com account--the one associated with their user-name and password? Other than the Emergency Kit, I don't know how to use it.

    I'm not sure I understand this question. Can you clarify?

    I understand what the OP is asking here, having just encountered this situation. When setting up 1password for my wife, what advantage is there in inviting her so that she actually has her own account, secret key & master password? Why not just create a "Husband Vault" and a "Wife Vault" under the account of the original family organizer? I suppose if a husband and wife want to keep things really compartmentalized then having separate accounts is the way to go. But to me it seems simpler just to maintain separate vaults, or heck, even just one vault that everybody uses...

  • rosco345
    rosco345
    Community Member

    What is the purpose of a family user's (non-organizer) personal password.com account--the one associated with their user-name and password? Other than the Emergency Kit, I don't know how to use it.

    I'm not sure I understand this question. Can you clarify?

    I understand what the OP is asking here, having just encountered this situation. When setting up 1password for my wife, what advantage is there in inviting her so that she actually has her own account, secret key & master password? Why not just create a "Husband Vault" and a "Wife Vault" under the account of the original family organizer? I suppose if a husband and wife want to keep things really compartmentalized then having separate accounts is the way to go. But to me it seems simpler just to maintain separate vaults, or heck, even just one vault that everybody uses...

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    @rosco345: It's personal. Some people are okay with sharing all of their data. Naming vaults "Husband" or "Wife" or whatever doesn't prevent the other person from accessing it. That's okay for some people, not for others. Sometimes it's a matter of privacy, others there are legal reasons (confidential business information, for example).

    Similarly, some people are okay having someone else decide on a Master Password that they're stuck with. That's not okay for everyone though. It's really up to you.

    And keep in mind that entirely ignores the fact that some people have children, parents, and other family they want to share with as well. It is a much harder sell to get all of those people to agree on a single Master Password, and be okay with all the others having access to their stuff. Kids are great, but they can do a lot of damage. Food for thought. :tongue:

  • Lars
    Lars
    1Password Alumni

    @rosco345 - thanks for helping me understand what was being asked. In addition to the points brenty raised, there's also the fact that if you have, say, four people in the family, some items will have a common credential (the family Netflix password, for example -- everyone uses the same sign-in for that), while other items will be specific to each person. All four people, for example, would be likely to have a Login item called "Facebook." It would not only be confusing to have four different items all called "Facebook" in the same, Shared vault, but you might inadvertently login to one another's Facebook/Gmail/etc accounts. So items for which each person has an individual credential are good candidates for the Personal vault (which no one else can see/use), while items with shared credentials are good candidates for the Shared vault.

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    Ah yes, it can a bit crowded in there. Good point. :lol:

  • smmello
    smmello
    Community Member

    Is there a problem with husband and wife just using the shared account if they both set up their 1Password with the same Master Key information? I just place my Master key info sheet in my Dropbox 1Password folder than my husband and I both have access to. What I don't know is how to set up the vault in preferences. Do I ignore the private vault and just used "shared" vault? How do I move things from private to shared that I may have put in there since I didn't know how to set up my vaults?

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    @smmello: To clarify, Dropbox is not involved when using a 1Password membership; the encrypted data in the account is hosted and sync'd using our server in that case.

    As far as how exactly you set things up with your loved ones is up to you. Generally I recommend 1Password Families since then each person gets their own Personal/Private vault which no one else can access, access to the default family Shared vault (and any others that are created and shared with them), and also they use a Master Password they choose for themselves:

    https://support.1password.com/family-sharing/

    That said, some couples are comfortable sharing everything -- the Master Password and all data -- and just use a single individual membership between them. It's really a matter of what makes sense for you. Not everyone wants to share everything, and it can be nice to choose your own Master Password -- and having the flexibility to invite others and share some but not ALL of our data with them can really useful as well. Organizers in 1Password Families can also help others recover their accounts if they get locked out:

    https://support.1password.com/recovery/

    Just a few things to consider. Either way, what you put in which vault is a personal choice. But if you have questions, we're here for you. :)

  • smello
    smello
    Community Member
    edited September 2019

    It is just my husband and myself and we use the same Master Password and are currently both using Private on all our devices. Will that give us a synced database on your server? We put our initials on the names of sites we both use with different passwords to differentiate them. I have deleted the primary vaults per your instructions and that seems to have worked. My husband has an old iPad mini which I wasn't able to set up. Is there a problem with old devices? I followed the same procedures that I did with both iPhones but it didn't accept the email and password.

  • ag_ana
    ag_ana
    1Password Alumni

    Hi @smello!

    It is just my husband and myself and we use the same Master Password and are currently both using Private on all our devices. Will that give us a synced database on your server?

    If your data is stored in your Private vault, then that is indeed a vault that is stored on 1Password.com.

    We put our initials on the names of sites we both use with different passwords to differentiate them.

    As a suggestion, I think it would help you if you each had your own account, so you didn't even have to differentiate logins that way ;) If you have a 1Password Families account, you can just add a user to it so you can keep things separate (but still be able to share items with each other if you wish).

    Is there a problem with old devices?

    What version of iOS is this old iPad running, and what version of the 1Password app have you installed there?

  • smello
    smello
    Community Member

    The iPad mini is running iOS 9.3.5. 1Password is 7.3.6 version. Thanks for your other input.

  • smello
    smello
    Community Member

    I tried it again and scanned the account details. It did a scan and I typed in my master password. When I clicked on sign in I go a red message saying Check Your Email and Secret Key. It is correct and I am stumped.

  • ag_ana
    ag_ana
    1Password Alumni

    Thank you for the confirmation @smello. There is likely nothing wrong with your credentials: iOS 9 is very old now and not supported anymore. In order to use 1Password accounts in the 1Password app, you need to use iOS version 12.2 or later. I think this is why you are seeing that error message.

  • AGAlumB
    AGAlumB
    1Password Alumni

    @smello: I think there's either some confusion, or you made a typo, as the most recent version of 1Password which will run on iOS 9 or 10 is 6.9.1. 1Password 7.3.6 requires iOS 12, as Ana mentioned. 6.9.1 should still work for the time being, but we do recommend keeping up to date for security and compatibility, especially since we're using 1Password out of a desire to stay safe online: OS and browser updates are critical to that.

    Getting back to the trouble you're having, I'd encourage you to reach out to us at support@1password.com with screenshots and other details, since this is a public forum and we don't want to discuss anything sensitive here for your privacy.

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