1Password’s Account Recovery Is Now More Forgiving

All the best new features in the popular password management app.

1Password just got a major update with lots of new features, finally adding a way for you to recover your account even if you forget your master password. That's in addition to quality-of-life improvements, which let you automatically sign you into your account even if it has multiple login steps. Plus, the service recently added a feature that lets you use a QR code to share your wifi passwords, which I've used to great effect over the past few days. Here's all the best new 1Password features, all of which are available in the latest version of the app on all devices.

You can finally recover your accounts

Previously, if you forgot your master password and lost your Secret Key, that was the end of your 1Password account. There was no way to recover it, but now there is. You can now set up a safeguard and generate a recovery code. Once you have it, you'll want to store the code in a safe place (outside of 1Password) so that you have another way of accessing your account. The steps to do this are detailed on the 1Password support page.

Autosave credit cards

1Password will now detect when you type in credit card details and ask if you want to save them to the password manager. I've never bothered to save my current credit card to 1Password, but this change might finally encourage me to do so. You'll have a choice between adding a new card or updating an existing credit card.

Faster sign-in workflows

When you sign in to websites, they often add multiple steps to the login process. You may see an email page, a new page for the password, and additional pages for one-time passwords or other information. If you have all this information saved in 1Password, it'll automatically load all pages and complete the sign-in process for you.

A QR code for improved setup processes

If you're already signed in to 1Password on one device, you'll now be able to scan a QR code on new devices to quickly setup the app. Previously, you had to manually enter your account details, password, and Secret Key for sign up. 1Password says this code is temporary and doesn't contain sensitive information, protecting it against attacks via screenshots or by people standing behind you.

Search terms now include Secure Notes

1Password's Secure Notes are good for storing information that doesn't fit anywhere else. For example, you could use them for something as simple as a shopping list or as important as tax information. Previously, the search feature wouldn't scan the contents of these Secure Notes, but that's now changed.