Access your Chrome passwords via a special URL

Feb 16, 2016 19:50 GMT  ·  By

If you're using Chrome to store your passwords but you can't access the browser at any specific point or you don't want to sync your passwords to a strange computer, Google has your back.

For a while now, Google set up a special page called Google Passwords (passwords.google.com) that you can access. This page is where all the passwords you've synced through Chrome will appear, just in case you need to access them from another browser or while on the go.

How to set it up

Step 1: To benefit from this feature, the first thing you'll need to do is sign into your Google Chrome profile by going to the Google Chrome settings page (first option on the top).

Step 2: After you've signed in, you need to make sure your passwords are syncing in the Sync window and that you have the following option checked: "Encrypt synced passwords with your Google credentials" (at the bottom of the window, in the Encryption options section).

Step 3: Now close the popup, give it a few minutes to sync, close Google Chrome, open another browser and navigate to passwords.google.com.

Step 4: Once authenticated with your Google credentials so that Google can know it's really you, you'll see a list of all your accounts and their passwords, along with the option to unblur the passwords and have a look at the actual text.

In case you change your mind

Scenario 1: In case you don't think it's a good idea to have your passwords accessible via a section of your Google profile, then don't worry because this can be reversed.

Just go back to step 2, and instead of the first option, choose the second, which reads, "Encrypt all synced data with your own sync passphrase." This means Chrome will encrypt data with a custom encryption key you decide, instead of your Google account password.

Because Google knows your account password but doesn't know your secret passphrase, the passwords won't show up anymore in the Google Passwords page because Google won't be able to decrypt them.

The passwords will continue to sync between devices and Chrome instances, but Google won't be able to tell what they are, and the Google Passwords Web page will show an error instead.

Scenario 2: In case you decide syncing your passwords is a bad idea overall, just go back to Step 2, reset the passphrase, select not to sync anything from the dropdown at the top of the popup, and just sign out your identity from Chrome.

This way, the browser won't keep tabs on you anymore, and you'll have to rely on your brain or a password manager to remember your passwords.

Chrome's Sync settings
Chrome's Sync settings

Photo Gallery (2 Images)

The Google Passwords section
Chrome's Sync settings
Open gallery