1Password introduced a new feature today that will make it easier to find the login, password, or access code you’re looking for, based on where you’re using the app. It will now let you add a specific physical location to items, and they’ll automatically appear in the new Nearby section of the app’s home tab, depending on how close you are to that spot.
The password manager already makes it easy to quickly access frequently used or favorited passwords on the mobile app’s home tab without searching. But both of those sections can get cluttered if you have a long list of passwords you regularly access. The addition of location data will help ensure only the most relevant passwords are presented when opening the mobile app — like your health card at the doctor or travel documents at the airport — minimizing the need to scroll through a long list or remembering exactly how you named an item in order to find it through a search.
Locations can be added to new or existing items saved in 1Password either while at the specific location or by dropping a pin using a new map view that lets you search for a place while you’re elsewhere.
You can also limit the number of items that show up in the app’s home tab by range. You can only be presented with passwords associated to locations within 50 feet or up to 10 miles away — although that could negate the usefulness of the feature if you’re once again presented with an overly long list of items.
The app’s new map view also allows you to browse all the locations associated with passwords and other saved items in your account.
AgileBits, 1Password’s developer, says that “your location data is never stored, shared, or tracked,” and the 1Password app does its checks for nearby items locally so your current location never leaves your device. The company also added an additional layer of security around the loading of map data by giving users the option to turn off this feature entirely at any time.
Being able to specify locations for passwords is a feature originally introduced through 1Password labs, a section of the app where the company lets users try out and provide feedback on new and experimental features before they’re rolled out to all users. Experimental features are made available in the 1Password mobile and desktop apps in the labs tab under Settings, and users can turn unreleased features on or off at any time.
