Sharing Passwords & Vaults Securely

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Sharing Passwords & Vaults Securely

Quick Overview
  • Covers sharing a single password/item and requesting a shared department vault.
  • Applies to Faculty and Staff who need to share department or shared-account credentials.
  • Never send passwords by email, chat, or text. Use 1Password's built-in sharing instead.
  • Shared vaults are created and managed by ITS. Faculty and Staff don't create or configure vaults themselves.

1Password gives you two ways to share credentials safely: sharing a single item with someone (with a link that can expire), or working out of a shared vault with your whole department or team. Both keep the password encrypted in transit instead of sitting in an email or chat message.

Sharing a Single Item

  1. Open and unlock 1Password, then select the item you want to share.
  2. Select Share from the item menu.
  3. Choose when the link should expire and who can use it. To restrict access, select Add email and enter the recipient's SFA email address.
  4. Select Copy Link, then send the link to the recipient.
  5. The recipient can view the shared item through the link even if they don't have a 1Password account.
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Tip
Adding the recipient's specific email address (instead of leaving the link open to "anyone with the link") makes sure only that person can use it, even if the link is forwarded.

Requesting a Department or Team Vault

If your department manages shared accounts (a lab computer, a departmental social media account, a shared software license), a shared vault is usually a better fit than sharing individual items one at a time. Shared vaults are created and maintained by ITS, not by Faculty or Staff, so you won't create or configure one yourself.

  1. Submit a request to the IT Help Desk asking for a new shared vault.
  2. Include the department or team name, who should have access, and what the vault will be used for.
  3. ITS will create the vault and add the people you listed.
  4. Once you have access, add shared logins to the vault so everyone with access can find and use them without passing passwords around individually.
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Important
Vault membership is managed by ITS, not by vault members. When someone joins or leaves a team that has a shared vault, submit a new Help Desk request so ITS can update access. Please don't share the vault further on your own.

Need Help?

Contact the IT Help Desk at (936) 468-4357 (HELP) or submit a ticket at help.sfasu.edu.
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