How to Import Passwords from Safari to Chrome

Have you recently made the switch from Safari to Google Chrome?

Whenever you switch browsers, it can be annoying having to go to the old one every time you forget a password or enter a password when you log into a website that you usually visit.

But, in this article, we’ll cover two methods that you can use to import all of your Safari-saved passwords to Google Chrome.

• Import Passwords from Safari to Chrome Automatically
• Import Passwords from Safari to Chrome Manually
• How to Set the Default Browser

Import Passwords from Safari to Chrome Automatically

The first way to import your passwords from Safari to Chrome is to do it automatically. This method requires no downloading.

The first step is to open Google Chrome and click on the three dots in the top right of your screen. From there, hover over Bookmarks, and click on “Import bookmarks and settings…”. Chrome will then present you with a drop-down menu that lists all the browsers currently installed on your computer.

From this list, you need to select “Safari”. Then you will see all the data that you can import to Chrome. “Saved passwords” is included. Make sure you have checked the box in front of it. There are also some other options such as Browsing history, Favorites/Bookmarks and so on.

If the option “Saved passwords” is not offered, make sure you choose Favorites/Bookmarks. Generally, it will also import Safari passwords. If it doesn’t work, try importing the passwords manually in the next section.

After choosing the data types that you want to import to Chrome, click on “Import” and then “Finished”.

Import Passwords from Safari to Chrome Manually

If for whatever reason, you either can’t or don’t want to import your password automatically, you can also do so manually.

Before discussing the two methods you can use, we should say that both require you to download your passwords into a CSV file. Here’s how to do that.

• Open the Safari web browser.
• In the top menu, select “File”.
• From the options choose “Export”.
• Then you will see “Bookmarks” and “Passwords”. Choose “Passwords”.
• Click “Export Passwords” on the pop-up.
• Save the CSV file in a location you can remember.

Import via Chrome

This option involves importing the passwords saved on the CSV file onto Chrome via Chrome.

• Open Google Chrome.
• Type chrome://flags into the search bar and press enter.
• In the box labeled “Search flags”, type in “Password import”.
• This should reveal a small section with a little drop-down menu on the far right.
• From this drop-down menu, select “Enabled”.
• By selecting “Enabled”, a message at the bottom of Google Chrome will pop up. This message says, “Your changes will take effect the next time you relaunch Chrome.”

• Close and reopen Google Chrome.
• Click on the three dots in the top right.
• Select “Settings”.
• Go to the “Saved Passwords” by going to “auto-fill” and selecting “Passwords”.
• Near the top of this page, you should see three dots next to a button which says “Add”.
• Click on the three dots.
• Select “Import”
• Find and select the CSV file you downloaded earlier from Safari.

Import via coding

If you’re comfortable with coding, this next option is another way to import files from Safari to Chrome. Like the previous option, you will still need to download the CSV file.

If you use a Windows PC.

• Open the start menu, and open the application “Command Prompt”.
• Type in cd “C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application” and press enter.
• Type in chrome.exe -enable-features=PasswordImport and press enter.
• Open Google Chrome. Click on the three dots in the top right, and select “Settings”.
• Go to the “Saved Passwords” by going to “auto-fill” and selecting “Passwords”.
• Click on the three dots next to “import”.

If you use a Mac

• Open the “Launchpad”. This is an application that has lots of colorful squares as its logo. You can usually find it in the dock.
• In Launchpad, search for “Terminal” and open it.
• Type in /Applications/Google\Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google\ Chrome -enable-features=PasswordImport and press enter.
• Open Chrome.
• Click the three dots in the top right.
• Select “settings”.
• Go to the “Saved Passwords” by going to “auto-fill” and selecting “Passwords”.
• Near the top of this page, you should see three dots next to a button that says “add”.
• Click on the three dots.
• Select “Import”.

Import via passwords.google.com

Another option is to use passwords.google.com. Like the previous choice, you will first need to download your passwords from Safari onto a CSV file.

• Open Google Chrome.
• In the search bar, search for “passwords.google.com” and press enter.
• Click the “Settings” icon. It’s a small gear right to the “Password Manager” page title.
• Select “Import”.
• Select the CSV file that has your passwords from Safari.
• Select “Open”
• Select “Import”.

How to Set the Default Browser

If you use Chrome more often than Safari (or any other browser), it could be wise to set it as your default browser. This means whenever you open a webpage file or a URL, it will automatically open with Google Chrome.

How to do this depends on whether you use a Mac or a Windows PC.

On Windows PC:

• Open the start menu.
• Open Settings.
• In the “Find a setting” search bar, type in “Default apps”.
• Under “Web Browser”, select whichever browser you see, and select “Chrome” from the drop-down menu.

On Mac:

• Open Google Chrome.
• Click the three dots in the top right.
• Select “Settings”.
• Go to the “default browser” section.
• Click “Make default”.

This method also works on Windows computers.