1Password introduces travel mode to temporarily remove passwords

Canadian company AgileBits recently added a new feature to its password manager 1Password. It is a travel mode, which allows users to designate certain passwords that they want to use while traveling. The rest then disappear temporarily.

According to AgileBits, the function should protect travelers against accidental searches, for example at border crossings. Because certain sensitive information can be temporarily removed, it cannot be found during a search of the phone, the company said. The feature is only available to individuals who have subscribed to the service.

The feature allows users to designate a password vault that is marked as safe for travel. They can store passwords in it that they want to take with them when traveling. Then, turning on the travel feature will remove the remaining vaults from all synced devices. This applies to the files and the encryption keys. In this way it is not noticeable that certain information has been made inaccessible, according to the company. When travel mode is turned off again, the deleted safes will be restored.

A support page shows how to enable travel mode. It can be seen there that the mode must be activated via the web interface. 1Password is a password manager, which allows users to store their passwords in a secure vault. The software can also generate passwords. This means that it is no longer necessary to remember passwords and it is easier to use a unique password per service.