Configure 1Password for iOS/iPadOS

If you use a 1Password account (see Learn About 1Password Accounts), follow the prompts to log in when you first run 1Password for iOS/iPadOS. If not, one of the first things you’ll probably want to do is sync the iOS/iPadOS version of 1Password with your Mac or PC; if you’ve already turned on Dropbox or iCloud sync, it’s a matter of a few taps. (I cover all the details—as well as what to do if you prefer to avoid cloud-based sync—in Set Up Syncing.)

You’ll also want to configure certain security settings to make it easier to access your data. One major difference from the desktop versions of 1Password is the option to use Touch ID or Face ID on supported devices, or a PIN code on devices without Touch ID or Face ID. These are convenience features to prevent you from having to enter your master password repeatedly (which, let’s face it, can be a real pain on a tiny iPhone keyboard!).

To set up Touch ID or Face ID:

1. For a device with a fingerprint sensor, if you haven’t already set up Touch ID for the device itself and enrolled your fingerprints, do so in Settings > Touch ID & Passcode. For a device that supports Face ID, if you haven’t already set it up, do so in Settings > Face ID & Passcode.

2. In 1Password, tap Settings > Security.

3. Turn on Touch ID or Face ID.

With Touch ID or Face ID enabled, when you switch away from and back to 1Password (or leave it open but unused for the time specified in the Auto-Lock setting), 1Password prompts you for a fingerprint or face scan, rather than your master password or a PIN code. If you can’t or don’t want to use your fingerprint or scan your face, you can tap Cancel and then type your master password instead. You’ll still need to enter your master password if you restart your iOS/iPadOS device.

To set up a PIN code on devices that support neither Touch ID nor Face ID:

1. Tap Settings > Security.

2. Turn on PIN Code, type in a 4-digit code, and repeat to confirm.

Having done this, when you switch away from and back to 1Password (or leave it open but unused for the time specified in the Auto-Lock setting, such as 10 minutes), you can simply tap the PIN code instead of suffering through entering a potentially lengthy passcode. You’ll still need to enter your master password if you restart your iOS/iPadOS device, or if you make a mistake when entering your PIN code. (If you prefer to be prompted more frequently for your master password, go to Settings >Advanced > Security > Require Master Password and tap the desired frequency.)

Find Your Way Around

The arrangement of icons and lists depends on your device’s screen size and orientation, but you’ll want to acquaint yourself with a few main controls, which should appear either on the left side or the bottom of your screen:

• Favorites: Tap the Favorites icon to display your favorites, as shown in Figure 40, left.

• Categories: Tap the Categories icon to display a list of categories including All Items, Logins, Secure Notes, and so on (Figure 40, right); then, tap a category name to list its contents.

  

• Tags: Tap the Organize icon to display your tags.

• Settings: Tap the Settings icon to adjust your preferences.

Use Safari or Another Browser

While browsing the web in Safari, Chrome, or any of numerous other iOS/iPadOS browsers, you can access your 1Password data.

First, there’s a one-time setup procedure:

1. In the main iOS/iPadOS Settings app, go to Passwords & Accounts > AutoFill Passwords.

2. Make sure the AutoFill Passwords switch at the top is turned on.

3. Tap 1Password to enable it. (You can leave iCloud Keychain enabled it, or tap it to disable it, as you prefer; in my experience, logging in is less confusing when only 1Password is selected.)

Now, whenever you come to a webpage that asks for your login credentials, follow these steps:

1. Tap in the username or password field.

   iOS/iPadOS looks for a matching login in 1Password. If it finds one, it displays that login in the middle of the QuickType bar (Figure 41). (If the QuickType bar is hidden, the login appears in a popover at the bottom of the screen.) In certain situations, you may see more than one potential login match.

   

2. If you see the login you want to use, tap it. If not, tap the key icon, which may be either on the QuickType bar or at the bottom of the screen. A popover (Figure 42) shows other potential matches; if you see the one you want here, tap it.

   

   If you don’t see the login you want, tap 1Password, unlock it, find the login you want, and tap it.

3. Unlock 1Password if necessary. iOS/iPadOS fills in your credentials.

4. Tap the Submit button.

This process is much smoother and less finicky than it once was, but it doesn’t cover every scenario in which you might want to use 1Password. Specifically, this process doesn’t let you use 1Password to generate a new password, store credentials for a new site, or enter other information besides login credentials (like credit card data or your mailing address). You can still do all these things, but you must do them the old-fashioned way—using the 1Password app extension, which appears in Share sheets.

First, set up the 1Password app extension:

1. Open Safari.

2. Tap Share .

3. In the Share sheet that appears, swipe leftward on the bottom row of icons, and then tap More.

4. Tap the 1Password switch to turn it on. Then touch and hold the grab icon on the right and drag 1Password to the top of the Activities list so it appears first (leftmost) when you next open the Share sheet.

5. Tap Done.

After that initial setup process, you can use 1Password for a variety of activities. Here are a few examples.

Work with 1Password Items

When viewing a list of logins (Figure 43), you can swipe any item toward the right to reveal a Copy Password button; tap this as a shortcut to copy the item’s password. Or, tap the item name to see its main details. Similar to the Mac version, you can tap “Saved form details” to see (but not edit) the individual fields saved for that item. Tap any field to show a Copy button and, for passwords, Reveal and Show in Large Type buttons.

To edit the item, tap Edit in the upper-right corner. (You can also create a new item by tapping the plus icon and then tapping an item type.) An editing view appears (Figure 44).

The controls in the list, item, and edit view should be mostly self-explanatory, and largely familiar if you use 1Password on a Mac. Even so, I want to point out a few details:

• Password Generator: If the item includes a password (such as the login item in the figure above), tap Edit to enter edit mode, and then tap Generate New Password to generate a new password; the password generator (Figure 45) appears. The password generator has two modes—Characters (that is, random characters) and Words (that is, Diceware-style passwords); swipe left or right to switch modes.

  

  In Characters mode, you can adjust the Length slider, vary the number of digits and symbols, and toggle the control for Avoid Ambiguity (i.e., omit 1 l I 0 O), which is enabled by default. In Words mode, you can change the number of words and the character used to separate them. Most changes you make appear immediately, but if you switch between Characters and Words mode, tap Regenerate Password to switch the password to the new mode. (When you’re happy with the password, tap Done to save it.)

• Sharing: Tap Share to display a Share sheet, and then tap a destination to share a URL that encodes the item’s content (see Share an Individual Item for details); or tap an AirDrop recipient to share this item via AirDrop.

• Adding documents: In edit view, you can add a document from the camera or the Files app to any item. To do so, tap Add New File (under “Related Items”) and then tap one of the following:

  • Photo from Camera Roll

  • Take Photo with Camera

  • Scan a Document (like taking a photo, but this option also straightens the image and uses OCR to recognize text in it)

  • Import from Files

Use Multiple Vaults in iOS/iPadOS

1Password for iOS/iPadOS supports multiple vaults, with a 1Password account or an in-app purchase of 1Password Pro. Back in Sync with the Cloud or a Folder, I explained how to sync an existing secondary vault with 1Password for iOS/iPadOS. You can also do the following:

• Switch vaults: Tap the Vault or All Vaults icon at the top of the screen and then tap the name of the vault you want to use. (If All Vaults is selected, 1Password shows entries from all your vaults together.)

• Change a local vault’s sync settings: Go to Settings > Vaults, tap a local vault, tap Sync Service, tap the sync method you want to switch to, and follow the prompts.

• Remove a local vault: Go to Settings > Vaults, tap a local vault name, and tap Delete Vault. This removes the vault from your device, but not from Dropbox or iCloud. (You can’t remove your primary vault or a vault in a 1Password account.)

Use 1Password on an Apple Watch

If you have an Apple Watch, you can configure 1Password for iOS to display certain manually selected pieces of data—including logins, credit cards, and one-time passwords—on your wrist. (As a reminder, Apple Watch support requires 1Password Pro, available as an in-app purchase.) You won’t get anything like the full capabilities of 1Password on your Apple Watch, but you’ll have easier access to some of your most important secure information.

To set up 1Password for your Apple Watch:

1. Make sure your iPhone is configured to use a passcode, Touch ID, or Face ID. (You can set this up in Settings > Touch ID & Passcode or Settings > Face ID & Passcode.)

2. Open the 1Password app.

3. Tap Settings > Apple Watch.

4. Turn on Enable Apple Watch.

5. Manually add the 1Password items you want to be able to view on your wrist:

   1. Open any item in 1Password.

   2. Tap Add to Apple Watch.

   Repeat as necessary to add more items.

Having done this one-time setup, to use 1Password on your Apple Watch, press the Digital Crown and tap the 1Password icon to open the app on the watch. Now, scroll to the item you want to view and tap it.