How to Use the Built-in Password Generator in Google Chrome

Using the same password for your email, bank account, and social media is one of the most dangerous security mistakes you can make. If a hacker breaches a single, low-security forum you signed up for five years ago, they can take your email and password combination and instantly compromise your financial accounts.

Every single online account must have a unique, complex password (e.g., kR7$pL9@vM2#qZ). While memorizing these is impossible, and paying for a third-party password manager can be expensive, you already have a powerful, free tool built directly into your web browser: the Google Chrome Password Generator.

How Chrome’s Password Generator Works

Google Chrome features a built-in password manager that not only stores your credentials but can actively generate virtually unbreakable passwords whenever you create a new account. Because Chrome syncs with your Google Account, these complex passwords are automatically available across your laptop, your Android phone, and even your iPad.

Step 1: Ensure Sync is Enabled

Before generating a password, you must ensure Chrome is allowed to save it to your Google Account. If you generate a password and it does not save, you will be permanently locked out of your new account.

1. Open Google Chrome.
2. Click your Profile picture icon in the top right corner (next to the three-dot menu).
3. Ensure that “Sync is on.” If it says “Turn on sync,” click it and log into your Google Account.

Step 2: Generating a Secure Password

The password generator is designed to be completely frictionless. It automatically detects when you are on a registration page.

1. Navigate to any website and begin creating a new account.
2. Type in your desired username or email address.
3. Click inside the Password field.
4. Chrome will immediately display a small dropdown prompt suggesting a highly complex, random password.
5. Click the suggested password to accept it.

The password will instantly fill both the “Password” and “Confirm Password” boxes on the website. When you click the website’s “Sign Up” or “Register” button, Chrome will display a pop-up in the top right corner asking if you want to save the password. You must click Save.

What to Do if the Suggestion Doesn’t Appear

Occasionally, a website is coded poorly, and Chrome fails to recognize that you are in a password creation field. If you click the box and no suggestion appears, you can force the generator to open.

Simply right-click inside the blank password field. From the context menu that appears, select Suggest password… or Generate password. Chrome will force the pop-up to appear, allowing you to generate and save a secure string of characters.

How to View Your Generated Passwords

Because you will never remember the passwords Chrome generates, you rely entirely on the browser to auto-fill them when you return to the site. However, if you ever need to manually view the password (for example, to log in on a friend’s computer), you can easily retrieve it.

1. Click the three-dot menu icon in Chrome.
2. Select Settings.
3. Click on Autofill and passwords in the left sidebar.
4. Click on Google Password Manager.

You will see a list of every website you have saved. Click the website you want to view. Chrome will require you to enter your computer’s administrator password (or use your fingerprint) for security. Once authenticated, click the small Eye icon next to the hidden password to reveal the text in plain sight.