If you’ve used a web browser on a laptop or desktop computer, chances are you have been prompted to save your password when logging into a website site for the first time. It’s a convenient tool when browsing because as we all know, there are so many passwords to remember. But what happens if you saved a password a long time ago and can’t remember it? Good news! In all the popular browsers (Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Microsoft Edge), there is an easy way to reveal these saved passwords. Security note: if you are saving passwords in a browser on a shared computer, others may also be able to access these passwords using this method.
Firefox
In Firefox, click on the three lines in the top right corner, to the right of the address bar, and then click Passwords.
You’ll see a list of all your saved passwords. If you have a large number of saved passwords, you can also search for a specific site in the top search box. Each entry will have the website where your password was saved, along with the username, if applicable. Clicking on one of the entries will give you more details.
You can see the website in bold. Clicking on edit will allow you to change the username and/or password associated with that site. If you want to delete this saved password, click on remove. You can copy both the username and password. To reveal the saved password, click on the eye icon next to the password field. You also have details about when the saved entry was created, modified, and last used. If you make any changes, click on the save changes button, which will appear if you click edit.
Google Chrome
In the Google Chrome browser, click on the three dots in the top right corner, and then click on settings.
Next, click on Autofill on the left, and then Password Manager.
On the next screen, you’ll see your list of passwords. There is the option to search to find a specific password. You can also turn off Chrome prompting you to save passwords by clicking the blue button next to Offer to save passwords. Chrome also gives you the option to automatically sign in using saved credentials. Clicking check passwords will allow you to see if Chrome considers your passwords weak and to see if your password has been compromised in a data breach.
Under Saved Passwords, you will see the website, username, and password. To reveal the password, click the eye icon. With Chrome, you will be prompted to enter the password you use to sign into Windows or Mac as an extra layer of security. Clicking on the three dots will give you the option to change, edit, or remove that particular saved password. Chrome will autosave any changes you make on this screen. You can add a new saved password by clicking the add button. You can import or export your list of saved passwords by clicking the three dots next to the Add button.
Safari (Mac/Apple Browser)
In Safari, click on Safari in bold on the top taskbar, and then click Preferences.
Next, click on the Passwords tab. You will be prompted to enter the password you use to sign onto your Mac at startup as an extra layer of security.
From here, you will see your list of passwords on the left. If you click on a particular entry in the list, you will see the website URL, when it was modified, the user name, and the password.
To view the saved password, move your mouse pointer over the black dots in the password field. You can also see it by clicking the edit button. Clicking the edit button will also allow you to edit the password or remove it. Clicking the share icon will allow you to share the password via AirDrop if another Apple user is nearby.
Additionally, if you click on the website name in the list on the left, you can click the minus button on the bottom to delete the password. Clicking the plus icon will allow you to add a new website and saved password. If the Detect compromised passwords option is checked, when you click on a particular entry and there are issues with the password, you will see a message that says “easily guessed password” or “compromised password.” Compromised password means that particular password has appeared in a data leak, which puts that account at high risk of compromise.
Edge (Microsoft Windows browser)
The Edge browser in Windows uses an icon that looks like this:
The website How-To Geek has written up some great instructions on how to view your saved passwords in Edge.
Have you tried out any of the methods described above to view a saved password? Let us know in the comments!