Top 3 Ways to Backup Chrome Bookmarks and Passwords

Google Chrome is widely appreciated, but it is not immune to data corruption. Unexpected browser crashes, problematic user profiles, and buggy browser versions can all help. This is why it is a good idea to make a backup of your data if you have a lot of Chrome bookmarks or passwords stored locally.

There are several ways to back up your Chrome favorites and passwords. Workable methods include logging into a Google Account, exporting data to an HTML or CSV file, or making copies of relevant data files. Let’s take an in-depth look at the three possible methods below.

1. Use Chrome Sync to back up favorites and passwords

The best way to back up your favorites and passwords is to use the built-in sync feature in Chrome. As long as you have a Google account (which you can create for free), you can easily log in and configure Chrome Sync to back up your data to Google servers.

Create a Google Account

With Chrome Sync, you not only have a full backup of your favorites and passwords, but you can also sync data between devices. In addition, Chrome Sync will always back up your data, which means you always have an up-to-date backup of your favorites and passwords.

Step 1: Click the profile icon in the upper right corner of the Chrome window, then select Turn on sync.

2nd step: Enter your Google Account credentials to log in to the web browser.

Step 3: Click the Settings option when prompted to activate Chrome Sync.

Step 4: Select the forms of data that you want to back up and synchronize between devices, especially bookmarks and passwords in this case.

Step 5: Click the Back arrow icon, then click Confirm to activate Chrome Sync.

This should prompt Chrome to start backing up your bookmarks, passwords, and any other form of specified data. Chrome Sync will also update your data accordingly each time you make additions or changes. To access your data on another device, just sign in to Chrome with your Google Account.

Note: If you were already signed in with a Google account, open the Chrome menu, then click Settings> Sync and Google services> Manage what you sync to view Chrome sync settings.

You can also use Chrome Sync on the Android and iOS versions of Google Chrome to back up your bookmarks and passwords. See our full Chrome sync guide for more details.

Export bookmarks and passwords to HTML or CSV file

Google Chrome lets you easily export your bookmarks and passwords to HTML and CSV formats, respectively. This method is perfect if you don’t like using a Google Account. It also serves as a great way to create offline backups of bookmarks and passwords at any time, even if you’ve enabled Chrome sync.

Export bookmarks to HTML file

Step 1: Open the Chrome menu, point to Favorites, and then click Favorites Manager.

2nd step: Click the three-dot icon in the upper right corner of the Chrome window.

Step 3: Select the option labeled Export Bookmarks.

Step 4: Specify a location in local storage to export the bookmarks to, then click Save.

You can use the exported HTML file to reimport bookmarks into Chrome or other supported browsers on any desktop device.

Note: The Android and iOS versions of Chrome do not offer the ability to export bookmarks as an HTML file. However, you can use Chrome Sync to sync your bookmarks from your mobile to a desktop computer and then export them to an HTML file by following the steps above.

Exporting passwords to a CSV file

Step 1: Open the Chrome menu, then click Settings.

2nd step: Click on Passwords.

Step 3: Click the three-dot icon next to Saved Passwords.

Step 4: Click Export Passwords.

Step 5: Click Export Passwords to confirm.

Step 6: Specify a destination, then click Save.

You can import data from the CSV file to Chrome or other supported browsers on any desktop device. It is also possible to read the content of a CSV file using a spreadsheet.

Exporting passwords in CSV format is largely the same on Android and iOS. You can refer to our guide on exporting Chrome passwords to CSV on computer, mobile and web.

Copy Chrome bookmarks and passwords storage files

You can copy the files that store your favorites and passwords to Windows and macOS versions of Chrome. But there is a catch: you can only use the bookmarks file, but not the password file, if you want to restore your data on different devices or operating system profiles. This happens due to the encrypted nature of the file that contains your passwords – it can only be used with the same device / operating system profile in which it was originally created.

Step 1: Navigate to the folder that stores your Chrome data:

Windows – press Windows + R to open Run, copy and paste the folder path below, then click OK.

%UserProfile%AppDataLocalGoogleChromeUser Data

macOS – press Cmd + Space to open Spotlight search, copy and paste the folder path below, then click OK.

~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/

2nd step: Double-click the folder titled Default to access the contents of your Chrome profile.

Note: If you have more than one profile in Chrome, the associated profile folders appear as Profile 1, Profile 2, Profile 3, and so on.

Step 3: Copy the file called Bookmarks to create a backup of your bookmarks.

Step 4: Copy the files titled Login Data and Login Data-journal to save your passwords.

Again, remember that you cannot use the connection data and connection data log files to restore your passwords to a different device or operating system profile.

Backed up and safe

Using Chrome Sync is the fastest and most efficient way to back up your bookmarks and passwords. Not only is it practical in practice, but it also backs up your data continuously. If you want to have a snapshot of your data, however, either exporting the data to HTML and CSV files or copying the Chrome files that store the bookmarks and passwords should work as viable alternatives.