BGR: "Apple to deploy 1Password to all 123,000 employees, acquisition talks underway"

BGR: “Apple to deploy 1Password to all 123,000 employees, acquisition talks underway

(via Daring Fireball)

Now that (the second part) is a rumour I did not expect…

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Now that is interesting.

Oh:

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Honestly, I’m more surprised by the first part. Apple buys companies on a regular basis. How often do they broadly deploy non-Apple software to employees?

Too bad, that would have been awesome having it integrated into the system, and removed another subscription concern.

Of course, Keychain is almost there for most use-cases anyway.

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However they would likely kill cross platform, as they did when acquiring TestFligh, which would suck a lot for those who depend on it on Android or Windows

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I’m actually quite relieved this isn’t the case, I like 1Password as it is and independent.

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What did they use before 1Password?

I can only assume, but probably PostIts, like the the rest of us :grin:

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1Password has a product targeting businesses these days. Maybe they’ll leverage that.

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.

They definitely are, this ‘deal’ is 1Password Business

iOS 12 will integrate 1Password the same way keychain is.

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Probably like most other companies I worked at: they leave it up to the employee to use (or not use) a password manager. I’ve seen quite a few colleagues of mine using Keepass as it’s free.

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It should not be too much of a surprise. Apple employees have already received 1Password for free for several years. My guess is that the big change is that they are making it available to more of the employees, such as those in the retail stores, and offering family plans.

I’m selfishly relieved that Apple is not acquiring 1Password because it would make me nervous. I prefer not to keep all my security eggs in one basket.

OTOH, since every employee (and their family) will now be using 1Password, it probably means that 1Password integration into iOS will become top-notch and on a par with iCloud Keychain’s access! And new features as the come out!

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I’m with you 100%. I don’t use the integrated password solution because I want my passwords separate from my Apple ID.

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Having been on the big company side of things, I can promise you that even if Agile Bits isn’t talking to anyone Apple is looking at acquisition or eventual replacement. A good acquisition starts with being a better customer… people get hired to meet the demand, it provides leverage in discussions… blah blah blah.