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Published on August 01, 2024
On July 24, 2024, Google announced an 18-hour-long issue on its Chrome web browser regarding its password manager. A bug prevented millions of Windows users from accessing their passwords on Google Password Manager when using Chrome as their web browser. According to Google, this bug was caused by “a change in product behavior without proper feature guard.” Although the issue was fixed on July 25, approximately 15 million people suffered after passwords suddenly disappeared from their password managers within Chrome.
Read more to learn who was affected by this issue, how Google fixed it and why you should use a dedicated password manager instead of relying on your web browser.
How Google Password Manager impacted Windows users
Google claimed that this problem only affected Windows users who relied on the M127 version of Chrome. However, millions of people were still left without access to their online accounts and a sense of security as their passwords vanished.
Even though this was a temporary issue, Windows users who were affected by this problem expressed their dissatisfaction online on platforms like Reddit. One Reddit user said, “I have to re-log in to work websites over and over throughout the day, so this is really frustrating.” Another Reddit user explained that, during this 18-hour timeframe, “Chrome won’t save new passwords. Very frustrating.”
Google has acknowledged that users could save passwords during the bug issue, but new passwords weren’t visible since Google Password Manager was malfunctioning. Millions of Windows users were left without answers and passwords for hours before Google acknowledged this issue. However, even an apology from Google couldn’t help the discontent and unproductivity that many users experienced.
Google quickly fixed the issue
The day after the bug issue started, Google fixed its password manager for affected users. Google apologized for “the inconvenience this service disruption/outage may have caused” on July 26, 2024. They were able to eliminate this issue for all affected users within one day, which is a very quick fix. Google advised all impacted Windows users to restart their Chrome browser to make sure the bug fix took effect immediately. If any Chrome users experience issues not mentioned in the official Google incident report, contact Google Workspace Support for more information and guidance.
Use a dedicated password manager instead of your browser
Although using your browser’s password manager may be convenient, it is not the best and safest option for your passwords. Instead of depending on your web browser to keep your passwords safe and risking a bug issue as millions of Chrome users did recently, you should use a dedicated password manager like Keeper® instead.
Why Keeper Password Manager is safer than Google Password Manager
Keeper Password Manager is built with a zero-trust and zero-knowledge framework, ensuring the strongest end-to-end encryption for your passwords and records. Google Password Manager doesn’t have the same encryption standards. Keeper’s co-founder and CTO, Craig Lurey, stated in an interview with PCMag, “In essence, Google can see everything you save. They have an ‘optional’ feature to enable on-device encryption of passwords, but even when enabled, the key to decrypt the information is stored on the device.” This means that if your device is compromised so are your passwords. Remember, browsers like Chrome were created to enable people to access websites, not to protect their passwords.
Ensure you never lose your passwords again
We know that losing your passwords for any amount of time can be aggravating and disadvantageous in getting your work done. That’s why we strongly recommend using a designated password manager instead of depending on your web browser’s built-in password manager. Keeper has 99.99% uptime so you’ll never lose access to your passwords. Plus, our offline access ensures that even if you don’t have an internet connection, you can still access your critical information.
Start your free 30-day trial of Keeper Password Manager today and never lose access to your passwords again.
