Most of the HN users reading this thread do understand the difference between licenses and subscriptions. It may seem strange but this is not the case for the vast majority of the users. We have customers emailing us about having a 1Password account/subscription since before 2015 (when we only had licenses).
There was a lot of confusion with this design because people simply had no idea what to choose. It is ridiculous but we had many hundreds of customers purchasing both.
The subscription is a better option for most of our users because it takes care of so many things:
- no need to purchase separately on every platform
- no need to learn the difference between iCloud and Dropbox sync, and why sharing is not possible with iCloud option
- no need to learn how to set up a shared Dropbox folder
- no need to worry about backups when your computer or phone dies
- and more
Many of our long-time customers still use licenses and are happy with the existing setup and we want to keep them happy. This is the main reason we keep the licenses going and releasing new version for Mac and Windows support for licenses and standalone vaults.
Honestly, I will be happy if you continue to support licenses vs. subscriptions as an option + syncing with the cloud service of choice (I use iCloud). My use case is pretty simple. I don't need fancy integrations. I just want an easy to use solution that protects my passwords and enables me to use it across my Apple devices...which is what my (licensed) 1Password 6 does wonderfully for me now, across two Macs, my iPhone, and my iPad. For that feature set, I am willing to fork over for a new license at major versions. I just don't feel comfortable making my password management dependent on a subscription. Also, I would be more amenable to a subscription for a small amount for the iOS app (as that is more of a convenience than critical to my workflow; I use 1Password on the desktop much more frequently) so long as I can still purchase a license for my computers [edit] and have all the devices work together.
The standalone macOS app isn’t going to be much value to me if the iOS app requires a subscription though.
1Password accounts seem like a very attractive target for something like Stuxnet. I just can’t bring myself to put my trust in a corporation, given the history of pivots & acquisitions and subsequent licence changes & data repurposing.
The iOS application doesn't require a subscription to use. It works just fine as it always has with standalone vaults via iCloud or Dropbox (and WLAN from a desktop).
On iOS, scroll down the list, you'll see an option on the welcome screen to create a standalone vault. You're not on a subscription doing this.
Already have a vault synced to Dropbox or iCloud? Tap the requisite option on the welcome screen and it'll suck the data in from your sync source of choice. Again, no subscription required.
What is the future of dropbox sync between desktop and iOS? Am I right in assuming that since you keep only mentioning iCloud that it won't be possible? I can just decline to upgrade the desktop client, but I can't just choose to ignore updates to the iOS client.
We originally started with offering both licenses and subscription as equal options. Here is how it looked: https://web.archive.org/web/20160420141241/https://1password...
There was a lot of confusion with this design because people simply had no idea what to choose. It is ridiculous but we had many hundreds of customers purchasing both.
The subscription is a better option for most of our users because it takes care of so many things:
- no need to purchase separately on every platform
- no need to learn the difference between iCloud and Dropbox sync, and why sharing is not possible with iCloud option
- no need to learn how to set up a shared Dropbox folder
- no need to worry about backups when your computer or phone dies
- and more
Many of our long-time customers still use licenses and are happy with the existing setup and we want to keep them happy. This is the main reason we keep the licenses going and releasing new version for Mac and Windows support for licenses and standalone vaults.