How to Export Passwords from Chrome (and Where to Put Them)

Whether you're switching to a dedicated password manager or just cleaning house, Chrome makes it easy to export every password it has saved. The export is a plain CSV file, which is convenient for importing elsewhere — and exactly why you need to handle it carefully.

Exporting your Chrome passwords

The steps are quick:

1. Open Chrome and go to Settings → Autofill and passwords → Google Password Manager.
2. Click Settings in the Password Manager sidebar.
3. Find Export passwords and click Download file.
4. Authenticate with your computer's password or biometrics when prompted.
5. Choose where to save the CSV file.

On Mac you can also reach saved passwords through System Settings, and you can find saved passwords on Mac the same way.

The important warning: that CSV is plaintext

The exported file contains every username and password in readable text. Anyone who opens it can see all of your credentials. Treat it like a stack of cash:

• Save it to a local folder, not a shared or cloud-synced one.
• Import it into your new password manager immediately.
• Delete it permanently as soon as the import is done — empty the Trash too.
• Never email it, message it, or leave it in your Downloads folder.

Where to put your passwords next

Exporting is only half the job. The point is usually to move into a real password manager that's more secure and more capable than browser storage. When choosing one, see how to choose a password manager and our comparison of a password manager vs. browser-saved passwords.

Most password managers — including ones built on the macOS Keychain like Passlock — let you import a Chrome CSV directly. After importing:

1. Confirm the count of imported items matches the CSV.
2. Delete the CSV file and empty the Trash.
3. Turn off password saving in Chrome so it stops collecting new ones.
4. Run a quick audit for reused or weak passwords and fix them.

Why move off browser storage at all?

Browser password storage is convenient but limited: it's tied to one browser, the protection is only as strong as your device login, and it doesn't help much with generating strong passwords or sharing safely. A dedicated manager gives you stronger encryption, cross-app autofill, and proper organization.

Where Passlock fits

Passlock stores your credentials in the native macOS Keychain, encrypted and protected by Touch ID — so after you export from Chrome and import into Passlock, your passwords live in Apple's secure hardware rather than a browser profile. Once they're in, delete that CSV, turn off Chrome's saving, and you've upgraded both your security and your autofill across the Mac.