A password manager used to be one of the most important third-party apps anyone could have. It was the thing that made it practical to have strong, unique passwords for every app, website, and online service we used.
However, after the launch of Apple Passwords, the writing was on the wall for paid apps and subscriptions. The price increase just announced by 1Password looks set to convince a lot more people to switch – and it’s very easy…
Password manager is not optional
In the early days of online services, it was common for people to use a single password for everyone. In many cases, this password would be weak and easily guessed by anyone who knew them. Frankly, a scary amount of non-techies still do this today.
Scary because it means that the security of every online service you use is only as good as the security of the least secure website you access. Whenever a data breach occurs and hackers gain access to login information for any website, they immediately launch automated processes to try the same logins against high-value targets such as financial services companies and Apple accounts.
Using a password manager to get strong and unique passwords for every online service is something I’ve been trying to do for over a decade, and it’s an absolute staple these days.
More people are switching to Apple passwords
Apple has long provided a built-in password manager in the form of Keychain, which later evolved into iCloud Keychain. It worked reasonably well, but third-party password managers were more capable and friendlier.
That changed last year when Apple completely revamped things with a dedicated Passwords app. It matched the paid third-party apps in terms of both functionality and friendliness, which made me switch – and I know many of you did the same. I’ve been using it ever since and haven’t found any downsides.
1Password announced a steep price hike yesterday, with individual plans going from $35.88 to $47.88 per year and family plans going from $59.88 to $71.88. From reader comments, it sounds like this will prompt many more people to switch to Apple passwords.
“I just canceled my renewal coming up in April.
“Time to go. No reason to subscribe! Bye!”
“Looks like I need to cancel my subscription.”
“It’s going to drop like a stone! This is crazy! We’re moving to Apple.”
“Absolutely sick of being ripped off by subscription software and will do my best to avoid it. Password app for ios is more than adequate for my needs. Bye 1password!”
How to switch
Fortunately, it’s very easy to switch from a third-party password manager to Apple Passwords, and that includes 1Password. All you have to do is export your database from 1Password and then import it into Passwords.
Below are instructions for Mac, but you can also do this on iPhone.
Export your passwords from 1Password
- Open and unlock the 1Password app on your Mac
- From the menu bar File > Export and select the account you want to export
- Enter your account password
- When prompted to select a format, select it CSV and select Data export
- Choose where you want to export your 1Password data and select OPEN
(If you’re using 1Password 7 instead of 1Password 8, see here for instructions.)
Import your passwords into Apple Passwords
- Open the Passwords app and verify
- From the menu bar File > Import passwords from a file
- Select the CSV file
Safely delete the CSV file
Don’t forget to delete the CSV file immediately after importing! If you don’t have anything in your Recycle Bin that you might need to retrieve, it is strongly recommended that you empty the Recycle Bin immediately afterwards.
Photo by Zulfugar Karimov on Unsplash
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