How to Import and Backup Saved Passwords In Google Chrome

We all know a browser is designed to help browse the web, right? But when it starts acting like a password manager what should we do?

Should we use the built-in password manager offered by Google Chrome, Firefox, and other popular browsers? Is it safe to use these tools? Or should we go ahead and learn the risk involved in using it?

With that said, let’s understand why browsers offer built-in password managers, should we use them or not, and what are the alternatives.

Why Browsers Offer Built-In Password Managers?

Everyone these days uses a browser and to offer convenience to the user’s major browsers come with built-in password managers. Certainly, this feature eradicates the need of remembering passwords but what about security?

Security Plays a Lesser Role

Built-in password managers offered by popular web browsers don’t defend against local attacks. When a system is being compromised, all the passwords saved in the browser can easily be accessed. Also, if the Google account is hacked, passwords saved in Chrome are at risk.

Furthermore, there’s no master password to protect against these attacks. Hence, to stay protected against these potential attacks, credential stuffing, data break, and similar threats, we need to clean up the mess.

For this, you have two options, either import all the passwords and save them in a secure vault or use a password manager to generate random passwords.

In either case, tracking down all the saved passwords and deleting them from Google Chrome or any browser they are saved in is essential. This way you can secure yourself from being a victim of identity theft.

Why do we need to download saved passwords?

The biggest advantage of saving passwords in Google Chrome is that you don’t have to remember them. Each time you visit the website Chrome will automatically fill in the saved passwords. However, there can be situations where the need to backup your passwords arise:

• Changing system
• Moving from one Operating system to another
• Modify new passwords and import in Chrome
• Replacing weak passwords with strong passwords using the best Password Manager for Windows.

Best Ways to Import/Export Saved Passwords From Other Browsers

Since Google Chrome is a widely used password in this article, we will discuss the best ways to import and export saved passwords from Google Chrome.

First, Enable A Flag & Import Passwords Into Chrome

Although the Chrome browser provides the ability to import a backup CSV file of saved passwords, the option isn’t visible or accessible by default. You need to tinker with certain of Chrome’s experimental features to enable password import on Chrome. To do so, all you need to do is:

STEP 1 = Launch the Chrome browser on your device and type the following in the address bar:

chrome://flags

STEP 2 = Hit the Enter button, and you will be headed towards Chrome’s flags page. You must put your cursor in the search box in the same window and type Password import.

STEP 3 = As soon as you do that, you will see the Password Import flag appearing in the search results.

STEP 4 = To enable the same, simply click on the drop-down menu next to the Password import flag and choose the Enabled option.

STEP 5 = Make sure you hit the Relaunch button at the bottom of the screen.

STEP 6 = As soon as the Chrome browser launches again, hit the three-dots icon at the screen’s top-right corner. Select Settings and go to the Passwords!

STEP 7 = Next, you need to hit the three-dots icon next to the Save Passwords section and choose the option Import.

That’s it! Now you just need to head towards the saved CSV passwords file and import it into the Chrome browser.

Alternative Way To Import Chrome Passwords

Using the CMD utility, you can easily import passwords into Google Chrome by executing a simple command line. This method would work on your Windows and Mac machine, but the process may differ slightly. First, let’s learn how to import passwords into the Chrome browser on Windows PC.

STEP 1 = Go to the search bar and type Command Prompt. As soon as the relevant results appear, click on the same to launch it.

STEP 2 = Now copy and paste the following command line and hit the Enter button.

cd “C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application”

(This will bring you to Chrome’s executable file on your PC.)

STEP 3 = After this, enter another command line shared below and hit the Enter button.

chrome.exe -enable-features=PasswordImport

(This will activate the secret password import functionality.)

That’s it! After executing this command above the line, your Chrome browser should restart. You need to implement STEP 6 & STEP 7 again (shared in the above workaround) to complete the process of importing Chrome passwords.

Now that you’ve learned how to import saved passwords on Chrome, it’s time to learn the process of exporting the saved passwords. To do so, follow the steps below:

Export Saved Passwords On Google Chrome

Luckily, the latest version of the Chrome browser provides an easy option to export passwords saved in Chrome. This means using it you can easily export passwords saved in Chrome.

1. Launch Chrome browser

2. Click the three stacked dots present in the top right corner

3. Select Settings > Passwords

4. Hit the three vertical dots and click Export passwords

5. You’ll now get a confirmation window, again click Export passwords to proceed.

6. When asked to enter the password, enter the Windows login password and select the location where you want to save passwords.

7. That’s it, you have now successfully exported passwords saved in your Chrome browser.

Generating strong passwords and replacing them using the Best Password Manager – TweakPass

If you are a privacy enthusiast and do not want to risk compromising your passwords, we suggest generating strong passwords using TweakPass. But, before that, you will need to check the weak passwords. To do so, first, let’s export saved passwords and then replace them with random passwords generated via TweakPass.

To export Google Chrome passwords in CSV format and then import them after generating using TweakPass, please follow these steps:

1. Launch Chrome and in the address bar copy, paste chrome://settings/passwords > Enter.

2. Click the Passwords option > hamburger menu () button > and select ‘Export passwords…‘, Export Chrome passwords

Export Chrome passwords

3. When asked to confirm the operation click Export passwords… and proceed.

Export confirmation

4. Windows 10 users for security reasons will be asked to enter Windows login password. Provide it to finish the process.

5. Once authenticated, you will need to select the location where you want to save exported data. Select the folder and save the ‘Chrome Passwords.csv’ file.

Save dialog box

6. Passwords will now be saved in a plain text file with a.CSV extension.

7. Now that you have the passwords exported, open the CSV file and look for weak passwords

8. Thereafter, head to TweakPass, web portal and select Generate Secure Password.

Download TweakPass

9. Either hit Copy password or click Use Password. Depending on the option selected either paste the password in CSV or use it for the site you are accessing.

10. After replacing weak passwords, save CSV and then import the file. This will replace weak passwords and will help stay protected against password leaks and data breaches.

Note: File upload will overwrite the existing entries.

FAQ

How do I backup my saved passwords in Google Chrome? 

To backup or export your data from Chrome, follow the steps below:

1. Launch Chrome

2. Click three dots present at the top-right corner > Settings

3. Click Passwords

4. Thereafter, click the three stacked dots and select Export passwords.

5. You’ll now get a confirmation box to confirm Exporting Passwords, hit Export passwords

6. Next, enter the password you use to log in to your computer when asked and save the file to your preferred location.

That’s it using these simple sweets you can easily export passwords stored in Google Chrome.

Can you import saved passwords from Chrome?

Yes, to import saved passwords follow the steps below:

1. Launch Chrome browser

2. In the address bar type chrome://flags/#password–import-export > press Enter key

3. You’ll now see Chrome’s flag page. Here, look for the Password import option. Click the down arrow and select Enabled.

4. Once done, Chrome will prompt you to restart the browser.

5. Relaunch Chrome and enter chrome://settings/passwords in the address bar.

6. Click three stacked dots present in the right and select Export Passwords

7. Confirm the action, enter login credentials and save the CSV files.

Note: Those looking to import passwords need to click on the Import button. Also note, Chrome creates a plain text list of all passwords. Hence, to prevent the risk of a data breach we suggest deleting the file. Alternatively, you can also use the best password manager like TweakPass to store these passwords in an encrypted format.

How do I import passwords from CSV to Chrome?

To import password from CSV to Chrome follow the steps below:

1. Launch Chrome and enter hrome://flags/#password–import-export in the address bar
2. Navigate to Password import > click the down arrow and select Enabled
3. Relaunch the browser
4. Now head to Chrome’s Settings > Passwords > click the three stacked dots > Import > go to the location where the CSV file is saved and Open it.
5. You should now be able to get all passwords merged into your Chrome.

How do I import my Chrome bookmarks and passwords?

1. Open Chrome

2. Click the three stacked dots at the top right corner > Settings

3. Hit Import bookmarks and settings

4. Select the program that contains the bookmark you wish to import

5. Click Import and that’s it. You have successfully important Chrome bookmarks and passwords.