By: Alex McOmiePassword manager reviewer
Editor: Owen DubielIT security and VPN expert
1. Import your passwords into Chrome or,
2. Add passwords individually
3. Manage your passwords from Chrome
First, you’ll need to store your passwords in Chrome. You can either import your existing passwords through a .csv (comma-separated values) file or add them to your account individually.
Google only supports password imports from .csv files.
1. Convert your passwords into the .csv format if you have them stored somewhere else. Your .csv file should have three columns, one for the URL, username, and password associated with each account.
2. Go to passwords.google.com and click the Settings icon in the upper-right corner.
3. Click “Import” and “Select File,” then upload the .csv file that contains your passwords.
4. Finally, delete this file from your device after so that your passwords aren’t accessible to anyone else.
While you can only import up to 3,000 passwords in a single .csv file, you can store up to 10,000 passwords in a single Google account. You need to split your passwords into multiple .csv files to import a total beyond 3,000.
Chrome offers to save passwords automatically when you enter them on a website for the first time. You can toggle this under the “Autofill” tab in Chrome settings if it’s not working.
Of course, you also have the option to enter passwords manually instead of waiting until you use the corresponding website. You can add passwords in the same area of Chrome settings, but this option may not be available on some versions of Chrome.
The “Add” button should be to the right of “Saved Passwords” and underneath the “Offer to save passwords” and “Auto Sign-in” settings.
Source: Google
Fortunately, there’s an easy way to make this option appear if you don’t see it at first. Navigate to the chrome://flags URL and use the search bar to search for “add password.” The “Add” button appears as soon as you change that setting to “Enabled” and relaunch your browser.
Once you add a password to Chrome with a .csv file or individually, you can edit or delete it as needed through the same Autofill tab of Chrome settings. At the bottom of the screen, you’ll see a list of all saved passwords associated with your Google account.
If you want to view the password in plain text:
1. Click the eye icon on the right-hand side.
2. Further to the right, you’ll see a button with three dots. Click this to bring up three options: “Copy password,” “Edit password,” and “Remove.”
3. You need to enter your Google password to perform any of these actions other than removing the password.
Keep in mind that clicking “Remove” deletes the password for your entire Google account. If you just want to get your passwords off of a specific device, click the “Remove from Device” button at the top of the list. Since your passwords are stored in the cloud, you can store them to your device again at any time.
The “Never Saved” list at the bottom of the page is another thing to watch out for if you use the Chrome password manager. Once you add a website to the “Never Save” list, Chrome ignores passwords for that website until you change the setting. Just scroll down on the Autofill settings page and click the “X” on any websites that you want Chrome to save your password for.
Chrome offers one of the best browser-based password managers available in 2023. You can:
There are also some good reasons to consider switching to a dedicated password manager instead of a built-in browser service.
1. Chrome’s password manager is limited to the Chrome browser.
2. Your passwords are only as safe as your Google account.
3. You can’t use Google Password Manager to recover your Google account.
Chrome’s Password Manager Is Limited to the Chrome Browser
The most obvious issue is that Chrome Password Manager is relatively limited to the Chrome browser. While Google has expanded functionality for external services, you may not be able to rely on it if you want to use another browser. Chrome is also missing some advanced password manager features, such as password sharing.
Your Passwords Are Only as Safe as Your Google Account
Another potential issue is that your passwords are as safe as the rest of your Google account. There’s no way to add any security measures for your passwords in particular, which puts more pressure on you to use a strong password for Google.
You Can’t Use Google Password Manager To Recover Your Google Account
You shouldn’t need to log into a dedicated password manager very often, but you probably find yourself using your Google account all the time. If Google is your password manager, you also can’t use it to recover your Google account if you’re ever locked out.
If you decide to switch from Chrome to another password manager, you can export your passwords out of Chrome from the same autofill settings screen. Click the three dots on the lower-right corner ― next to the “Add” button ― to bring up the “Export passwords” option.
Once you enter your account password, Chrome asks you to name the exported file and set its location on your device. As with importing, all Chrome passwords are exported in the .csv format. This should make them easy to import into your new password manager.
The Chrome password manager isn’t quite as fully featured as some dedicated password managers, but it’s still a solid choice that’s relatively easy to use. One of the best things about it is that you can manage virtually every aspect of your passwords from a single screen.
At this point, you’re ready to start managing your Chrome passwords more actively. Don’t forget to use the “Check passwords” function at least periodically to see how secure your accounts are. Look at our list of the best password managers of 2023 if you’re searching for an alternative to the Chrome password manager.
