Google recently addressed a critical issue in the Chrome browser’s password manager that caused stored passwords to mysteriously disappear after a version upgrade.
Several Chrome users reported on Reddit that their saved passwords vanished, and backup passwords would disappear immediately after being imported. This issue was specifically noted after users upgraded to Chrome version 127.0.6533.73, rendering their stored passwords inaccessible and unable to autofill as before.
Following these reports, Google launched an investigation and deployed an emergency patch within 18 hours. The company also released a status page to provide an explanation. Preliminary analysis by Google revealed that a change in Chrome’s product behavior, implemented by the product development department, inadvertently disrupted the password manager’s functionality. While the passwords were neither deleted nor reset, users were unable to see or retrieve them.
This bug affected 25% of users on Chrome M127, with nearly 2% experiencing the disappearance of their passwords.
To address the issue, Chrome’s emergency patch required users to start Chrome with the command line –enable-features=SkipUndecryptablePasswords. Google instructed users to add this string to the “Properties” of the Chrome shortcut to initiate the browser.
Google emphasized that this patch is a temporary solution, with a comprehensive fix to be released in a future Chrome update. Users will need to restart their browsers for the permanent solution to take effect.
The tech giant has promised to provide further details on the incident in the future, ensuring transparency and user trust.
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