Knowing how to access saved passwords in Google Chrome is an excellent skill for remembering and managing your passwords.
In this post we will talk about the password manager, and what autofill is. We will also go over how to access and keep your passwords safe when using it.
What is Google Chrome’s Password Manager?
Google Chrome is a web browser, which is a program designed to view webpages on the internet. Chrome can be used on Windows computers, Macs and Chromebooks, as well as most tablets and smart phones.
Within this program lies a function called the Google Password Manager. Here you can save and manage any passwords you have for your online account.
Passwords can be saved here in two ways. The first being automatic.
When you sign into a website for the first time, Chrome will ask if you want to save the password to the manager. Users can either hit save or never. Save will store the user name and password in the manager. Choosing never will make it so that it doesn’t ask again for that specific website.
After hitting save, the website link, the account’s username, and password will be saved to either the Google account signed into Chrome. or if no account is signed in it will save to the local device.
It is important to remember you should only save passwords on your own account or device. To be safe, we wouldn’t recommend saving passwords when you are on a public machine.
The second option is to save a password manually to the manager. First you will access the manager, and then hit the add button above the password list.
Users can then type the website URL, the username for the account, and the password for the account manually.
How to use the saved passwords
To access the Chrome password manager, look for the three vertical dots in the top right of the screen.
After clicking the three dots, scroll down to the “Passwords and Autofill” section.
Move the mouse cursor left and then select the Google Password Manager option. This will open it in a new browser tab.
To view the saved password, click on the website in the list. It will prompt you to type in your device’s pin or password. This is the one used when logging onto the computer. After that, click on the eye next to the password dots and it will reveal the saved password.
It’s important to remember that deleting information here is not deleting anything in the online account. This simply removes the stored information from your password manager.
It’s also important to realize that if you change your password on a different device that is not synced with your Google account, the information found here could be wrong.
The password manager will also save a different record for different pages in the same website. This could cause you to have many rows for the same company, some of which might be different.
The password manager is also not perfect and doesn’t always ask if you want to save information for every website you sign in on. If you sign into a website you want to have saved in the manager and do not receive the prompt to save it, then you must go into the manager manually and use the add function.
Mobile Access
If you choose to use their sync option, you can also have these passwords available on the mobile version of Google Chrome
To do this, open the Chrome app on the phone or tablet, tap on the three horizontal dots on the bottom right, and choose password manager. It will then use either your passcode, Touch ID, or Face ID to authenticate whether or not it is you. Once that is done, users will have access to the same list of usernames and passwords that is available on the computer version of Chrome.
Watch this video which shows the steps to access the Chrome password manager on a mobile device.
Password Security Warnings
Google Chrome’s password manager also has the ability to compare your passwords with phrases that have been detected within a data breach. This doesn’t mean your account’s username and password combo were compromised, just that the exact phrasing was found in a breach.
For example, lets say multiple Google users used the password “Dogs123” as their password. If this phrasing was detected in a data breach in any form, then all users who had that password would be notified.
When notified it is often a good idea to strengthen the password, but isn’t a huge cause for concern and it isn’t an indication that you have personally been compromised.
If you have questions about how to access saved passwords in Google Chrome, or our services in general, just call or email. We’re happy to assist you! Feel free to use our contact form to send us a message. Thank you!