Chrome isn’t Asking to Save Passwords – How To Fix

Good security practice is to have a unique, difficult to guess password for every login you use. That’s fine in theory but there is no way we can remember all of the logins we use on a daily basis. That’s why web browsers offer to remember them for you. So every time you need to log into a website, it does the remembering for you. But what happens when Chrome doesn’t ask to save the password?

First off, you really shouldn’t depend on your browser to remember logins. They are not currently regarded as secure enough. You would be much better off using a dedicated password manager. I’ll cover those a little more in a minute. First let me address the original issue, making Chrome ask to save the password again.

 

Troubleshooting Chrome When it Doesn’t Ask to Save Passwords

The first thing to do when Chrome stops asking to save passwords is to make sure the setting to save them hasn’t been turned off. This shouldn’t happen unless you share access to your computer but it’s a quick check so makes sense to do that first.

1. Open Chrome and type ‘chrome://settings/passwords’ into the URL bar.
2. Make sure Offer to save passwords is turned on.
3. Check under Never Saved for the site you’re logging into, remove it from the list if it’s there.

You should see a list of Saved Passwords underneath the Auto Sign-in section, which should show your most recently used logins accessed through Chrome. The Never Saved section is a list of websites you have asked Chrome to not save passwords for. Check this list for the site you’re on that isn’t asking to save the password, just in case.

If Chrome is set to ask to save passwords and the particular website isn’t in the Never Saved list, we need to do a little more troubleshooting.

Log In and Out of Your Google Account Again

The password issue may be a sync problem between Chrome and your Google account. Even though passwords are saved locally, they are also synced to the cloud.

Log out of your Google account and log back in again. Retry the login.

Clear Browsing Data

The Chrome cache can sometimes lead to issues with the browser. This isn’t unique to Chrome and happens to all browsers and dozens of apps. To clear the cache in Chrome, do this:

1. Open Chrome and select the three dot menu icon in the top right.
2. Select More tools > Clear browsing data…
3. Select all of the options for All time and then the Clear data button. 
4. Retry logging into the website again.

Clear the Chrome Password Folder in Windows

A more involved fix requires you to find your existing password folder and delete two files. This should force Chrome to download fresh copies and should reset the password process.

1. Navigate to ‘C:\Users\[Username]\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default’ using File Explorer. Where you see [Username], enter your Windows profile name. 
2. Copy the two files named, Login Data and Login Data-journal and paste them somewhere safe.
3. Delete those two files from the folder shown above and wait to copy them back.
4. Perform the above process to delete browsing data, but select the Advanced tab now and then Passwords and other sign-in data.
5. Revisit a website that you know the login for, enter your details to login and then close Chrome.
6. Copy the two files you saved somewhere safe back into their original position. Chrome should have recreated the files but you should overwrite them with the originals.
7. Retest.

Check Your Registry Files

If you’re feeling brave or know what you’re doing, then you might want to check your Registry files, for issues. Note, it’s recommended that you create a backup of your Registry before making any changes.

1. To create a backup, press Windows + R key, type in “regedit” and hit Enter.
2. Now, click on File > Export.
3. From here, select the Export range, choose its location, name your file, and click Save.

With that out of the way, let’s edit the Registry.

1. Navigate to Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome.
2. From here, right-click on PasswordManagerEnabled and select Delete.
3. Close the Registry Editor and restart Chrome before testing to see if it’s fixed.

Why a Password Manager is Better Than a Browser

Using a third party password manager like 1Password or LastPass is preferred over a browser. They tend to be more secure, more flexible and can do so much more than just save passwords. Having browsers save passwords instead of utilizing a password manager really isn’t the greatest for privacy and security, here’s why.

For instance, LastPass uses AES 256-bit encryption to save all of its data, the passwords and associated sites. It is currently the most secure encryption standards available for public use and is implemented both locally and in the cloud. Exact details of Chrome’s encryption are very difficult to find but it probably doesn’t exceeds this.

LastPass and other password managers offer extensive options to create passwords of almost any length and complexity. They also use salting to make them even more secure. While Chrome does offer to help create passwords, the options are more limited than Chrome.

Password managers can also store credit card details, social security and driving license numbers, offer two-factor authentication and advanced vulnerability scanning such as the LastPass Security Challenge.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that password managers are designed for the explicit purpose of keeping passwords secured and managable, so encryption and usability are core components of their design.

There are many other great password managers available, check around for what suits you best. The next time Chrome doesn’t ask to save passwords, take it as a sign and try something else.

Saving Passwords

Saving and managing passwords in Chrome usually isn’t a problem, but when it does happen you now know some ways to remedy the situation. If a simple restart or logging in and out of your account doesn’t work, then you’ll want to try clearing some Chrome caches or files on your device.