This post on the BitTorrent blog about how someone is syncing their 1Password file with BTSync sent me down a rabbit hole of creating a similar solution. I had been using Dropbox, then iCloud, then Dropbox. I was a confused man.
But I have serious privacy concerns with Dropbox, and I wanted the hell out of there. Also, iCloud seems like a good option as I trust Apple a bit (and the 1P file is encrypted), but at the end of the day I wanted something more reliable.
So I chose BitTorrent Sync. It’s stable, decentralized, and very private. That means, though, that my iOS devices cannot automatically sync and that’s a bit annoying.
Here’s my workflow:
- MacBook Pro: I have the 1Password file in a special folder, and syncing via BitTorrent Sync (my SSD on the computer is encrypted, so that’s all I need). All straight forward.
- iOS: I sync using the WiFi sync option. Amazingly this is far less annoying than I thought it might be. It’s also pretty fast. I only ever update it if I know a password I use a lot has changed. Otherwise things just tend to work.
- Mac mini @ macminicolot.net: Since this is not in my possession, and acting as a central server, I take a bit more care. I don’t use FileVault on the Mini to reduce potential problems with server operations, instead I keep the 1Password file inside a TrueCrypt vault on the mini. BTSync syncs the file within that volume. If I restart the mini I have to mount that volume again, but otherwise the sync happens perfectly. It’s not fool proof, but I feel pretty good about it.
That’s my setup, probably not something I would recommend for you.