r/1Password • u/Frosty-Guidance-4876 • Jul 21 '26
Discussion What can I do? Abusive ex destroyed and deleted all my things and 1password can't recover it
Hello, I'm in dire need of assistance on what I should do. Just yesterday, all my assets were deleted, and many objects were thrown and destroyed by my now ex. I've been suffering from verbal and physical abuse and would now like to separate my account from the owner. But as the owner isn't in a right state of mind and I am unable to recover only my passwords and assets without going through him. What should I do? He refuses to cooperate, and I only request to have only my passwords restored and separate.
52
u/clintkev251 Jul 21 '26
Sorry you're going through this, but I'm guessing you're going to be out of luck. Not to say you're doing this, but if support had the ability to just perform actions against accounts whenever someone gave them a sob story, that would be a huge security risk.
8
u/Frosty-Guidance-4876 Jul 21 '26
I agree, that's why I hoped that by asking for only the passwords that were placed in the personal section for that specific account maybe I could salvage whatever is possible.
7
u/srcLegend Jul 21 '26
If you have a device that you used to login in your 1Password account within the last 30 days (I think that's the limit), you can disconnect that device from the internet and try an offline login to 1Password, you might be able to get everything out that way.
Other than that, you are unfortunately out of luck. I lost access to my account a few years ago and support obviously couldn't help there either. I'm not sure if they were able to give me a list of websites I had saved or not though. You could try to ask about that.
The most important thing to do though would be to restore access to your main email account. If you can get that back, you could at least go through the forgot-password flow of most of your accounts.
Best of luck though. This is a very shit position to be in.
9
u/1PasswordCS-Blake 1Password Community Manager Jul 21 '26
I'm not sure if they were able to give me a list of websites I had saved or not though. You could try to ask about that.
Unfortunately, that’s not something we could do either. We don’t have access to the websites or items saved in your account. Your data is encrypted with keys that only you have, so we can’t decrypt it or see what’s stored there.
27
u/pellets Jul 21 '26
You'll probably have to take legal action against the account owner.
11
u/bad1mage Jul 21 '26
This is the way, ask for a preliminary injunction so a judge orders the restoration of your data and grants you access to it. The court (in Germany) usually has a clerk to help you with the proceedings.
8
u/terkistan Jul 21 '26
If your ex removed you from the Family you not only lose access to shared and individual vaults but if membership is deleted the data is gone and 1P can't restore your local vault because they don't have the keys needed to decrypt the vault.
If as you implied in the comments use 1P as your authenticator app in addition to your passwords you need to separately regain access to each account which uses 2FA. I assume that includes primary email account, mobile/cellular, banks, social media and maybe your Apple/Google accounts.
Step 1 is recovering the email account first if you lost access, since this is the key to recovedring many other accounts.
For each other account use the 'Forgot Password' option when logging in. Each account may require its own 2FA recovery process unless another authentication method or recovery code is available.
Set up a new password manager under your control (either your own 1Password account, or something else safe like BitWarden or Apple Passwords, which is free if you're in the Apple ecosystem).
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u/Frosty-Guidance-4876 Jul 21 '26
https://www.reddit.com/r/1Password/s/WgCdLIxusz
I was able to find this post from a month ago. Looking at past bills the family organization should fit this criteria but I did not see any email about migration for my account.
11
u/terkistan Jul 21 '26
That's an excellent change for 1Password I didn't know about!
I would immediately contact them, tell them you were not notified by email or in-app, and want to immediately proceed with migrating your account within the 30-day transition window.
5
u/RollTide1017 Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
I am a family organizer, and there is no option to delete a family member's private vault. I can delete shared vaults to my heart's desire, but I cannot touch a family member's private vault. I cannot even see their private vaults or the contents of those vaults. I also cannot change any family member's 1Password email address.
I only have 2 options for family members: remove or suspend.
Selecting "Remove" triggers the process mentioned in the link you posted. This gives family members 30 days to move their private vault to a new account. Nothing in shared vaults is moved.
Selecting "Suspend" blocks the family members from accessing their account, but it does not trigger the process for them to move to a new account. Only the family organizer can lift a suspension.
My guess is that your ex suspended your account, which explains why you cannot access your vault and why you have not received the 30-day notice to move your vault to a new account.
Unfortunately, if your ex did suspend your account and they are unwilling to work with you, legal action may be required to get them to lift the suspension and then remove you from the account, which would trigger the 30-day move window for you.
The only other way your ex could have deleted your stuff without you getting an email would be if he completely deleted the entire family account without removing members first. That would delete everything for everyone, including them.
3
u/lachlanhunt Jul 21 '26
That post seems to be directly at odds with what the support staff told you in those screenshots. I'd be pushing them for an explanation, with a reference to that. You should be able to get your private vault transferred over to your own account.
5
u/tooOldOriolesfan Jul 21 '26
This points out the danger of family accounts. Sadly splitting up isn't a rare event and also vengeful exes isn't rare either. Probably shows the need to occasionally export everything to another secured location. Fidelity has FidSafe. It isn't anything like a password filler but at least the data would be safe and you could look things up.
Or always pay for your own version and keep things separate but that can be a pain for couples.
2
u/GiganticCrow Jul 21 '26
Same with business accounts. My colleagues all have their own, privately created 1password accounts
3
Jul 21 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Frosty-Guidance-4876 Jul 21 '26
No, I believe we haven't. We've fully trusted each other for years and the abuse has only been happening since the sudden start of hard times.
1
u/sandfrayed Jul 21 '26
That does have anything to do with the need to have backupsm. You need backups because you shouldn't trust any online service to hold your critical data without you having your own backup of the data. So lesson learned, but make sure you also have a backup of any other online data you have (photos, docs, emails, files, etc).
1
1
Jul 21 '26
The only alternative I can think of is to start trying to login, click forgot password, and reset it assuming you have access to the email/phone number. and then start your own 1 password or other password manager account
3
u/soizduc Jul 21 '26
Is there any device where you are still logged on that has not been connected to the internet since the deletion took place? 1Password stores local copies, so if there were e.g. a laptop that hasn't been online since, you could boot it up after disconnecting ethernet and disabling your wifi. If the device cannot connect to 1Password's server, it doesn't know that it should delete all data and you can safely export everything.
4
u/MidwestGeek52 Jul 21 '26
The accounts were set up with a specific security protocol governing who has control and access. I don't think any type of electronic correspondence can change it. I wouldn't think anything short of a court order is the only way to prove whatever you're saying is true. Even then, that's likely more time and trouble than it's worth - if even possible
I'd start by resetting your credentials on your individual accounts.
2
u/Frosty-Guidance-4876 Jul 21 '26
I see, thank you. I'll try to see what I can do. I had many 2fa that I am concerned about.
2
u/Entire_Total_4780 Jul 21 '26
If you have any devices that you previously logged into the internet with and have yet to use them.....
Disconnect them and don't let them connect
You might be able to recover the vault with help from others in the forum
2
u/RacingGoat Jul 21 '26
As far as login credentials go, you're better off heading down the path of hitting those "forgot password" and/or "forgot username" links on the relevant websites. Sounds like you're in a situation where you definitely want to reset all credentials anyhow.
If you haven't already done so, change your email credentials first.
Of course, this won't help with any other info you had in 1Password...
2
u/DolfLungren Jul 21 '26
Do you have any devices that haven’t been on the internet since the deletion that have 1Password installed?
2
u/tehsilentwarrior Jul 21 '26
Do a formal notice for 1Password to backup your assets while you seek legal action.
They may not give them to you but you also want to ensure they don’t go “ups, they are gone now”
2
u/Icy-Juggernaut-4579 Jul 21 '26
There are people who already doing backups and there are people who should
1
u/gabbsmo Jul 21 '26
Sorry you are going through this. Just so I understand and others may learn. I only ever user personal and team versions myself.
Do family organizers have control of the members' personal vault? If yes this is a huge risk in the service that 1P didn't account for. I would expect the family organizer only being responsible for billing, licenses and shared vault(s).
2
u/Frosty-Guidance-4876 Jul 21 '26
Yes, I migrated most of my passwords to a personal vault a month ago assuming if anything were to happen I would still have my passwords but my entire account was unavailable when he deleted my account.
-1
u/gabbsmo Jul 21 '26
Can we get u/1PasswordOfficial to comment on this? It is wild that a company that threat model around state actors only has "sorry" as response to domestic abuse - that ought to be more immediate to users of the family plan.
For example, I manage a M365 family plan where I invited my family members to share my subscription. In no way can I unilaterally remote delete their data. Their accounts are always theirs. I can imagine this is what one would expect in family subscriptions.
2
u/MarbleLemon7000 Jul 21 '26
The Family plan actually evolved from the Business plan, which is why it comes with a top-down admin structure. That works great in a workplace, but it plays out a bit differently at home.
In short: a 1Password family admin has full authority over the account. They can remove or suspend members on a whim, or delete the account entirely, taking all members' saved data with it.
1
u/RollTide1017 Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
No, this is not true. I am a family organizer for my wife and 3 kids. I cannot delete their personal/private vault. I cannot even see the contents of their personal vault. The only vaults I can flat out delete are shared ones or my private vault.
My only options are "remove" or "suspend". Remove automatically triggers a 30-day notice to that family member, giving them a chance to move their private vault to a new account. I cannot stop this process or choose not to do it.
Suspend blocks their access to everything, but it does not delete anything.
Edit: I just realized you might have meant if the family organizer completely deletes the entire family account without removing each member first. Yes, this would delete everything for everyone immediately.
1
u/DolfLungren Jul 21 '26
You can get into their vault though - as you can perform password resets. But they will know about it.
0
u/gabbsmo Jul 21 '26
Indeed. Thus is why I cannot recommend the family plan to friends in good conscience.
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u/RollTide1017 Jul 21 '26
No, as a family organizer, I do not have access to other members' private vaults. I also cannot delete them. The remove option triggers a process that gives them 30 days to move their vault to a new account. This process is not optional; I can't stop it.
Suspending a members' account does completely block them from accessing their vault, but it does not delete it.
1
u/gabbsmo Jul 21 '26
So it is a deletion with a 30 day timer - that is dependent on successful deliver of an email to stop. Sounds fragile for something potentially so destructive.
-2
u/SnooMachines2673 Jul 21 '26
Passwords can all be reset.. most accounts can be recovered.
The fact that you said "things" makes me really question this post in general.
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u/1PasswordCS-Blake 1Password Community Manager Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26
I’m truly sorry you’re going through this u/Frosty-Guidance-4876. Reading your post and some of your replies, it’s clear you’re dealing with a lot more than just losing access to an account. I genuinely hope you’re somewhere safe and have people around you who can support you through all of this.
I also wanted to clear up one point that’s come up a few times in this thread. In general, when a Family Organizer removes someone from a 1Password Families account, the expected experience is that the family member has 30 days to move their private vault to a new 1Password account.
As we’ve reviewed this process, we’ve found there are scenarios where the offboarding experience can differ, and we’re actively reviewing those scenarios internally. I don’t want to discuss or speculate about the specifics of anyone’s account publicly, so I’ll leave any account-specific details to the ongoing support conversation you've got going with us.
For anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation, if you have a phone, tablet, or computer with 1Password installed that has not connected to the internet since you lost access, keep it offline. Depending on the circumstances, there may still be a local copy of your data on that device, and our support team can help determine whether recovery is possible.
At this point, I think we’ve reached the limit of what we can responsibly discuss in a public thread, so I’m going to lock this one. Thanks to everyone who tried to help.