Google Patches Chrome Password Manager Bug After Mass Outage
Google has apologized for a malfunction that prevented many Windows users from finding or saving their passwords in the Chrome browser. The issue, which arose on July 24 and persisted for nearly 18 hours until its resolution on July 25, was attributed to “a change in product behavior without proper feature guard.”
This malfunction affected Chrome browser users worldwide, leaving them without access to already saved passwords in the Chrome password manager. New passwords were also not being saved and were inaccessible to users. Google clarified that the problem only affected the M127 version of the Chrome browser on the Windows platform.
While it is difficult to pinpoint the exact number of affected users, considering Chrome has over 3 billion users, the majority of whom use Windows, one can assume a significant number were impacted. Google stated that the configuration changes affected 25% of users, approximately 750 million people. Of these, about 2% encountered issues with the password manager, amounting to roughly 15 million users.
A temporary workaround was offered, involving the launch of the Chrome browser using the command line “–enable-features=SkipUndecryptablePasswords,” which was inconvenient for most users. The complete fix, now available, merely requires a restart of the Chrome browser.
Google thanked users for their patience and apologized for the inconvenience caused. If anyone faced additional problems, Google recommended contacting Google Workspace support.
“We apologize for the inconvenience this service disruption/outage may have caused. Please note, this information is based on our best knowledge at the time of posting and is subject to change as our investigation continues,” the company wrote.
