How to Import and Export Passwords in Chrome
If you have been using Google Chrome for a while, you probably know about its in-built password manager.
The password manager is responsible for saving your login details every time you access a website.
It’s a convenient tool that saves you from the hassle of typing your passwords every time you visit similar websites.
However, some instances require you to download and upload the saved passwords.
A few of these situations include:
- When you want to change your current operating system.
- You are suspicious that a third-party has accessed your computer, and must change the passwords in bulk.
- You are shifting from one computer to another
- You are changing your business team and want new passwords
- You have been using your passwords for a while and feel it’s necessary to change the details.
That’s why this article looks to discuss the step-by-step process of importing and exporting passwords to Chrome.
We’ll also include images so you know what to look for when you open your browser.
But before we continue with the process, let’s have a small talk about the security of your passwords.
Keeping Your Passwords Safe
The only security to your passwords is the administrator logins. Anyone with access to the administrator password can easily download your passwords.
To keep your passwords safe, make sure that your administrator password is hidden from third-parties.
Also, as you save the CSV files to your computer, make sure that someone else cannot access the location.
Cyber attacks are a common threat that should not be ignored when saving files. Always remember that by Default, your computers’ IP address is available to the public.
A malicious person can easily track your online activities using the IP address, and look for opportunities to attack your system. If, for example, you have been web scraping on competitors’ websites, harmful links can be sent using such information to trap you.
It is for this reason that masking your IP address using private proxies is important. Better still, include a VPN to encrypt your data. With VPN and proxies working together, you are sure to protect your computer from unauthorized access.
Another additional feature you should consider is security keys in your Google account. This is especially important for the security of Android device users. With Google Play Store being a major distributor of malicious apps, security keys play a crucial role in giving you alerts every time someone tries to access your computer.
How to Export Passwords from Chrome
Exporting passwords from Chrome involves saving your passwords in a comma-separated values(CSV) file on your computer. It’s a simple process that requires you to enable the export button by following these steps;
Step 1: Go to your address bar and search chrome://settings
Step 2: Move to “Autofill” > “Passwords”
Step 3: Click on the three dots at the opposite of “Saved Passwords” and select “Export Passwords”.
Step 4: The next page will ask you to confirm if you want to continue and you can press the “Export Passwords” option.
Step 5: A new dialog box will appear requesting an administrator password. Type the password and press “OK”.
Step 6: Your downloaded passwords will be saved in a CSV format under the file name “Chrome Passwords”. You can change the name and file location to give extra security to your files.
Step 7: After exporting, you can open the CSV files on Apple numbers, Excel, or Windows.
How to Export Passwords from Chrome When Option is Hidden
It’s common not to have an export option on your browser. If this happens, you can go to the Chrome Experimental Features and reveal the option. Here’s how you can unhide the button and export the CSV file.
Step 1: Go to the address bar and type chrome://flags
Step 2: On the next page, type “password export” on the search bar and press enter.
Step 3: The “Password export” option will appear, and you can confirm the functionality settings. If it’s on “Default”, select the dropdown menu and click “Enabled”.
Step 4: Move to the bottom right of the page and click “Relaunch Now”. The changes will take effect immediately, and you can move on to exporting the passwords, as explained above.
How to Enable the Password Import Flag
By default, the password import option is disabled unless you enable it in the flag section.
Luckily, Google allows the import of passwords and logins from a CSV file into Chrome through the Chrome Experiments Panel.
Here’s a step-by-step process you can follow to enable the password import flag.
Step 1: Start by saving your work and closing all tabs since this process involves your browser’s relaunching.
Step 2: Go to the address box and type chrome://flags, and press enter.
Step 3: From the search bar at the top, type the words “”. The results will reveal a password import flag with the options set at “Default”.
Step 4: At the default settings, pull down the dropdown menu and select “Enabled”.
Step 5: Go to the bottom right side of your screen and press “Relaunch”.
How to Import Passwords Back to Chrome
After the relaunch, the next step is to import the passwords. You can simply do this by following these steps.
Step 1: Go back to your Chrome menu and click the “Settings” button.
Step 2: Look for the “Autofill” section and click on the “Passwords” options.
Step 3: Move to the “Saved Passwords” option and click on the three dots on the opposite side.
Step 4: A box will appear, and you can click on the “Import” label.
Step 5: A page showing your documents will appear, and you can pick your modified CSV file.
After selecting your file, Chrome will update your passwords from the CSV file to your browser. Chrome will also overwrite all entries with similar details to avoid having duplicates in the browser.
Note: Importing passwords will only work if the feature is set as Enabled. If you want to make changes, you have to go through the Chrome Experimental Chanel and change the option to either Default or Disabled.
How to Enable Password Import Through Command Prompts(CMD) or Terminals(macOS)
In some instances, the password import flag may not be available in Chrome. In such situations, you can enable the import of passwords through CVS by using CMD or Terminal. In both cases, you should save your files and turn off the browsers before you begin.
Via Command Prompt(Windows)
Step 1: Open the Start menu on your PC, type the letters “cmd”, and click “Open”.
Step 2: On the next screen, copy and paste this command
cd "\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application"
Step 3: On the next line, copy and paste this command
chrome.exe -enable-features=PasswordImport
Step 4: Chrome will launch automatically, and you can move on to the menu, then the “Settings” button.
Step 5: Click on the “Passwords” option and select the three dots opposite the saved passwords option.
Step 6: Select your CSV file, and Chrome will begin importing the passwords to the browser.
Via Terminal(macOS)
Step 1: Start by opening the “Finder” and select the “Go” option.
Step 2: Check for the “Terminal” option and double-click on it.
Step 3: A new page will appear, and you can type this command
/Applications/Google\ Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google\ Chrome -enable-features=PasswordImport
Step 4: Wait for Chrome to launch, then click “Settings” > “Passwords” > click on the three dots opposite saved passwords.
Step 5: Select the Import option and use it to select the CSV file you want to use to import passwords.
How to Use the DevTools To Reveal the Hidden Import Button
If your import option cannot be seen for some reason, you can use the DevTools to reveal it.
It’s a process you will have to repeat every time you want to import passwords. Here is how you can unhide the import button with in-built DevTools.
Step 1: Go to Chrome “Settings” and click on “Passwords”.
Step 2: Go to “Saved Passwords” and click on the three dots on the right.
Step 3: Select the “Export Passwords” options and press the “Insert” button.
Step 4: From the screen, look for the word hidden and double-click on it to highlight.
Step 5: Delete the highlighted “hidden” word and press enter.
Step 6: Move back to the Passwords screen and press on the three dots in the middle-right. Your import option will now be available, and you can go on with importing passwords from your CSV files.
Conclusion
Technology has made it convenient for people to create, save, import, and export passwords across devices. It has also provided many extensions that help in the importing and exporting of passwords in Chrome.
Whatever method you choose to import and export your passwords, always make sure that your information is safe from cyberattacks.
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