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Sync your information between iPhone and Mac with 1Password

If you’ve got an iPhone and a Mac you know what a headache it can be to keep them in sync. I mean, to keep the same contacts, calendar, bookmarks, documents, etc. on both of them and both sets up to date, can be a headache.

Sure, with iCloud it’s seamless and simple, in true Apple tradition, but what if you want to keep track of your usernames, passwords, credit card information, and that sort of very personal information?

Quite simply, the 1Password apps for iOS and OS X, are the best that I’ve found to keep all that sort of information – the things I want to keep safe, private, secure –in sync between my devices. There are cheaper and even free options, like KeePass, but they are neither as user friendly nor as slick.

AgileBits (agilebits.com) is the company behind 1Password and the app has been around for a number of years, maturing to version 3.6.2 on iOS. 1Password started as a Mac-only app in 2006.

With 1Password, whether it’s for iOS or Mac OS X, it works as a secure database for your logins, passwords, financial information, and anything else you want to keep private. It’s all secured with a login, and the information is encrypted. You simply enter, for example, the URL, username, and password for a website, so you don’t have to remember it by heart. Then, with free browser extensions for Chrome, Safari, and Firefox, you have direct access to your 1Password information from your browser.

In 1Password there are templates for logins, accounts, identities, secure notes, software, and wallet. All this can be organised in folders as well as tagged. There’s also a built-in functionality that can generate random passwords for you, thus enabling you to use different and more secure passwords. It really couldn’t be much easier: the interface is easy to use and both the Mac and the iOS app seem stable.

But wait, there’s more. This wouldn’t be even half as interesting if what you have on your Mac would not be in sync with what is on your iPhone. The real beauty comes when you sync the Mac and the iOS database using DropBox. You can do it over Wi-Fi too but it’s not as convenient, by far. With DropBox, and you can use a free account, any change you make on either your iPhone or on your Mac is almost instantly reflected on the other platform.

My view is that if using 1Password will mean that you use stronger and more varied passwords, those are enough reason to spend the money on these apps. If you use your cat’s name followed by “123” as your password for everything, the cat is now out of the bag — pun intended.

1Password for iOS is $14.99 and the Mac version comes in at $49.99. There are also 1Password versions for Android and Windows, but I’ve not used either of them yet.

Magnus Nystedt, @mnystedt

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