Integration with alternative web browsers

Alex/C

[quote name='revs' timestamp='1296487293' post='19818']

That way you could use 1Password as your browser app (replacing Safari) (OT: I do hope one day we can set default Browser/Mail apps in iOS!)

[/quote]



But this would only work if the 1Password browser would be blown up to a full featured browser which can be compared to iCab Mobile, Atomic and a few others. Otherwise all the users using alternative browsers at the moment would still ask for an integration with their browser. In fact, you don't have to replace Safari, you have to replace full featured browsers like iCab Mobile or Atomic, if this should work.



I think, the best solution would be still to let the user choose their preferred browser, and 1Password should use the "bookmarklet" approach (see me suggestion from above) to pass the login information to these browsers. I would be the first to implement everything that is necessary for this in iCab Mobile (but I think there's not much to do at all). And I think other authors of alternative browsers would follow as well. On the 1Password side there's probably also not much that needs to be done to get this working, because the self-contained bookmarklet is already available and can be probably reused very easy. I do have some ideas how this can be done very easy and flexible. If you're interested, just let me know.

MikeT

Hi Alex,



As Khad mentioned, we did pass the word to the team about this and we’ll look into this. We’re not saying it’s never going to happen.



At the moment, we are more focused on the bulit-in browser because it provides us with additional security protections such as the anti-phishing feature and other features that we might add in the future. The built-in browser provides us with a lot more power that a self-contained bookmarklet can’t give.



Certainly, it could be possible we’d go two ways, one with our built-in browser and a self-contained bookmarklet for a possible integration with alternative browsers in the future.



Anything is possible.



As to what we’ll do, that I can not comment on.

jjk454ss

[quote name='MikeT' timestamp='1298661519' post='21394']

Hi Alex,



As Khad mentioned, we did pass the word to the team about this and we’ll look into this. We’re not saying it’s never going to happen.



At the moment, we are more focused on the bulit-in browser because it provides us with additional security protections such as the anti-phishing feature and other features that we might add in the future. The built-in browser provides us with a lot more power that a self-contained bookmarklet can’t give.



Certainly, it could be possible we’d go two ways, one with our built-in browser and a self-contained bookmarklet for a possible integration with alternative browsers in the future.



Anything is possible.



As to what we’ll do, that I can not comment on.

[/quote]



Can't wait for a better built in browser, if you need beta testers, let me know;). I want in.

khad

Thanks for letting us know, jjk454ss! <img src='http://forum.agile.ws/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/skype_smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':-)' />

mmbrook

Add my name to the interest in integration with browsers.



As an interim solution, I have discovered a method that works. Its a tiny bit cumbersome, but at least for now it allows iCab Mobile to access your logins.



1. Update your 1Password Logins Bookmarklet

2. Go to Safari and copy the bookmarklet into something like Evernote.

3. Go to the iPad/iPhone, select all and copy the text.

4. Go to iCab Mobile and create a new bookmark, pasting the javascript into the address field.

5. Save



I haven't tried it with every single login that I have, but so far it has worked. Unfortunately, every time you modify your logins you have to do it again.

I haven't been able to get the copy and paste to work from the Mobile Safari Bookmarklet reliably.



Hope this helps.

[Deleted User]

Thanks for vote, mmbrook, and for the tip.



Does iCab have any way of importing bookmarks from external sources, such as by syncing with the Mac at all? If so you may be able to copy the bookmark from Safari to this tool on the Mac, let it sync and avoid the copy / paste.



In the long run, we want to make using 1Password on your iOS devices as easy as possible, and so we are certainly looking into ways to improve the browsing experience. The easiest way will be to improve our own built-in browser, but that doesn't mean we'll rule out integration with other browsers, providing we can do this securely and reliably.



Incidentally, any non Mobile Safari browser on iOS is using the same WebView frameworks that we use for our built-in browser, so in theory we can make our browser as fully featured as some of the others, though we want to avoid feature bloat as much as possible.



Thanks again <img src='http://forum.agile.ws/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/skype_smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':-)' />



[quote name='mmbrook' timestamp='1300137187' post='22429']

Add my name to the interest in integration with browsers.



As an interim solution, I have discovered a method that works. Its a tiny bit cumbersome, but at least for now it allows iCab Mobile to access your logins.



1. Update your 1Password Logins Bookmarklet

2. Go to Safari and copy the bookmarklet into something like Evernote.

3. Go to the iPad/iPhone, select all and copy the text.

4. Go to iCab Mobile and create a new bookmark, pasting the javascript into the address field.

5. Save



I haven't tried it with every single login that I have, but so far it has worked. Unfortunately, every time you modify your logins you have to do it again.

I haven't been able to get the copy and paste to work from the Mobile Safari Bookmarklet reliably.



Hope this helps.

[/quote]

iPhone2007

Any news on alternative browsers? I read about the $19.99 1Password sale & thought maybe it's finally time to start using it. But- I use iCab on iOS, and using iCab is more important to me than using 1Password. That's just the way it is- I use many of iCab's extra features. When iOS5 introduces browser tabs; I'll still use iCab.



So- is there a non-painful way to use 1Password with iCab? I don't mean an iCab plug-in- unfortunately that sounds like too much to hope for. I mean a usable, bookmark-based way- hopefully one that doesn't cut me off from the active 1Password database. At least something better than constant cut & paste between apps...



Personally, I would vote against Agile investing too much into enhancing their own browser. Agile is not focused on browser development, and it seems to me it would be a big effort to push the browser forward. People who use alternate browsers will never be satisfied. What I'm looking for is a reasonable (not necessarily wonderful) way to get 1Password to work with a non-Safari, independent [iOS] browser.



This will determine whether or not I buy 1Password...



Thanks!

khad

Welcome to the forums, kimhill. At this time I have nothing new to announce on this front. I'm sorry if that is not the answer you are looking for, but there are benefits to using 1Password for Mac even if you don't want to sync all your data with the 1Password iOS app. Please feel free to [url="http://agilebits.com/downloads"]download the free trial from our website[/url] and kick the tires.



It would be great if there were extension frameworks in place in iOS that we could use to integrate with browsers in a secure way as on the Mac, but such frameworks are not available in iOS at this time.



We're always keeping an eye on the development landscape, and we have also been known to have a few tricks up our sleeves in the past. That said, I encourage you to base your decision on what works for you with what is available and shipping today, not promises of what might be available in the future.



Please let me know if there is anything else I can help with.



Cheers,

iPhone2007

[quote name='khad' timestamp='1315555804' post='46194']

...but there are benefits to using 1Password for Mac even if you don't want to sync all your data with the 1Password iOS app.[/quote]



I constantly switch between Mac & iOS, so secure web passwords are useless to me without some kind of basic iOS/OSX workflow.





[quote name='khad' timestamp='1315555804' post='46194']

...It would be great if there were extension frameworks in place in iOS that we could use to integrate with browsers in a secure way as on the Mac, but such frameworks are not available in iOS at this time.

[/quote]



But I don't expect browser extensions from Agile (sad to say). As I said earlier, "[i]What I'm looking for is a reasonable (not necessarily wonderful) way to get 1Password to work with a non-Safari, independent [iOS] browser." [/i]E.g. bookmarklets. Is there a way to do this without completely manual copy/paste?



Also, I'd add that I'm sure that your integrated browser will become much more wonderful <img src='http://forum.agilebits.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' />. I'm also sure that I will never really use it, and I will always need interoperability with 3rd party iOS browsers. Your demographic is weighted towards savvy users, and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in my needs.

khad

[quote]I constantly switch between Mac & iOS, so secure web passwords are useless to me without some kind of basic iOS/OSX workflow.[/quote]

Agreed. Hence cloud syncing via Dropbox. You can sync a virtually unlimited number of Macs, PCs, iOS, and Android devices.





As Jeff mentioned earlier in the thread, because apps on iOS can't freely talk to one another or share data, we would need to build a completely separate instance of 1Password to work with iCab or any other browser. It would need to have its own, separate, copy of your 1Password data.



This means that the iCab mini plug-in would need its own separate copy of your data (which would have to be synchronized), as would an Opera mini plug-in or any other 1Password plug-in.



Clearly we would love to piggy-back on the work of browser developers and just plug into what they have already developed. Unfortunately that is much harder to do than it might first appear.



Our focus is on our own app at the moment (and its built-in browser), but the road ahead is long and not completely known. Apple may make some changes. Third-party browser apps may make some changes. We may be able to deliver something in this regard eventually, but for now we are focusing on 1Password's core functionality.



I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the constraints on iOS apps sharing data is a good security and stability move on Apple's part even if they do prevent us from doing things we would really like to do.