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Apple To Deploy 1Password To All 123,000 Employees; In Talks To Acquire Password Manager's Parent-Firm AgileBits: Report (bgr.com)
Jonathan S. Geller, reporting for BGR: Apple acquires an average of 15 to 20 companies a year, according to CEO Tim Cook. Of that number, we only hear about a couple, as most of these acquisitions or aqcui-hires are not consumer-facing, nor disclosed. However, we have exclusively learned that Apple is planning an interesting partnership and a potential acquisition of AgileBits, maker of the popular password manager 1Password.
According to our source, after many months of planning, Apple plans to deploy 1Password internally to all 123,000 employees. This includes not just employees in Cupertino, but extends all the way to retail, too. Furthermore, the company is said to have carved out a deal that includes family plans, giving up to 5 family members of each employee a free license for 1Password. With more and more emphasis on security in general, and especially at Apple, there are a number of reasons this deal makes sense. We're told that 100 Apple employees will start using 1Password through this initiative starting this week, with the full 123,000+ users expected to be activated within the next one to two months. Update: In a statement, 1Password said rumors of its acquisition were "completely false."
According to our source, after many months of planning, Apple plans to deploy 1Password internally to all 123,000 employees. This includes not just employees in Cupertino, but extends all the way to retail, too. Furthermore, the company is said to have carved out a deal that includes family plans, giving up to 5 family members of each employee a free license for 1Password. With more and more emphasis on security in general, and especially at Apple, there are a number of reasons this deal makes sense. We're told that 100 Apple employees will start using 1Password through this initiative starting this week, with the full 123,000+ users expected to be activated within the next one to two months. Update: In a statement, 1Password said rumors of its acquisition were "completely false."
So they automatically sync to my phone and iPad. Why would anyone manually sync passwords when you can get the same thing to happen automatically?
A password that is too sensitive for cloud sync is too sensitive for any password manager.
1Password is actually fine as far as 3rd party concerns go. You can use their internal cloud to store your password archive, or one of many other cloud services, or even keep the archive in local storage and NOT in the cloud. The password archive is a file. You can put it anywhere you put any other file. The trust for this location is entirely up to you. If you trust Apple, put the archive into iCloud and you're solid.
I've been using the program for several years. I'm quite happy to see Apple using it. They could choose from any password tool on the market. I'm sure they extensively vetted the alternatives before picking 1Password. If it's secure enough for Apple, I feel safe trusting it as well.