How Safe is Google Chrome Password Manager?

Between your Facebook, email, Amazon, and all your other online accounts, you have a lot of log-in information to keep track of. With so many passwords to remember, it makes sense to want a central place to organize all of them. However, if one entity is going to have access to all of your top-secret passwords, you will want to know that it is secure first.

Pros and Cons of Google Chrome Password Manager

The Google Chrome password manager is a popular choice to help protect and keep track of all of your online log-in information. But is it a good choice? Below, you will find a list of this password manager’s pros and cons that will help determine if it’s a good fit for you.

Pro: Convenience

The Google Chrome password manager is already a part of the browser, so you don’t need to download anything additional or make a separate account. Sign in to your Google account on any device, and you are ready to begin. When you sign in to an account in Google Chrome, it will automatically ask you if you would like to save your log-in information. You don’t even have to think about it!

It’s just as easy to remove or change your saved log-in information. All you have to do is go to Settings and click on Privacy and security, where you can also enable JavaScript. Next, click on Passwords. Here you can see all your saved log-in information and edit anything you need to change. You can also manage your auto-fill information, so every time you need to fill in your address or email, the correct information will automatically pop up.

Con: Lacks Two-Factor Authentication

Unfortunately, the Google Chrome password manager lacks a two-factor authentication system. Two-factor authentication systems require you to log in with your password and a one-time code delivered to your phone or email. Since Google Chrome doesn’t do this, anyone who has access to your device also has access to all of your passwords, making them significantly less secure.

However, your Google account does have the option of being secured by a two-factor authentication system to easily make up for the fact that the Google Chrome browser doesn’t.

Pro: Encryption

The Google Chrome browser does use some basic encryption to help protect your passwords from hackers. Passwords are automatically encrypted when synced into Google cloud. This way, even if someone has access to your Google Chrome browser, they will still need the admin password to access your stored passwords. There is even a way to protect your passwords from Google itself.

Con: Not Available Offline

The inconvenient part of the Google Chrome password manager being a part of the web browser is that it’s essentially useless offline. If you have no internet access, you cannot access your stored passwords. However, this seems like a relatively minor issue. If you do not have internet access, you are probably not trying to log into any online accounts anyway.

Pro: Strong Password Generator

Another helpful feature of the Google Chrome password manager is its unique password generator. When creating an account on a new website, you can generate a random, secure password. There’s no need to come up with 20 different complicated passwords. The Google Chrome password manager will create the passwords and save them if you so wish. It will even check the security of your existing passwords.

Con: Not Available in Other Browsers

This one may be obvious, but since the Google Chrome password manager is built into the Google Chrome web browser, it will not work with any browser other than Chrome, such as Internet Explorer or Firefox. So, if you’re ride-or-die for another web browser, you may want to look into other password managing options. However, if you are already a Google Chrome user or a willing convert, this isn’t an issue at all.

Conclusion

Although other password managers may be more secure, the Google Chrome password manager is a perfectly good option for most people. Bolstering many security features and extreme convenience, you can sit back and relax while this password manager does all the work of organizing your internet log-in information for you.