Where apps hide your files

Chrome's saved password file

Updated 2026-10-28 · 5 min read

Chrome keeps saved passwords in a file named Login Data, inside each profile's folder in Application Support. The file is encrypted, so the useful route is Chrome's password manager, which can show and export them.

The file

~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/Login Data

That is the passwords database for Chrome's first profile. If you use other profiles, each has its own copy in a numbered folder such as Profile 1. To find which folder belongs to which profile, open chrome://version in Chrome and read Profile Path.

On the Mac used for this guide (Chrome 156), the profile folder held these related files, listed here by name, size and permissions only:

File	Size	Notes
Login Data	about 1.8 MB	Saved passwords for this device
Login Data For Account	about 53 KB	Passwords tied to a signed-in Google Account
Account Web Data	about 77 KB	Account-scoped autofill data
Web Data	about 229 KB	Autofill, addresses and cards

All of them were readable only by the owner (-rw-------). Two things to know before you go looking: the file has no extension, and it is not a list you can read.

It is not a readable file

Login Data is a SQLite database. The site addresses and usernames in it are stored as plain text, but the passwords are encrypted. On a Mac, the key that decrypts them is kept in your login keychain, in an item named Chrome Safe Storage (that name appears in Chrome's own program code). Two consequences follow:

• Opening the file never shows you a password, and copying it to another Mac gives you a file that Mac cannot decrypt.
• Do not email, upload or share it. Even without the passwords, it reveals which sites you have accounts on, and anyone with both the file and access to your keychain could decrypt it.

This guide only lists these files. It never opens them, and you should not need to either.

See and export your passwords the supported way

In Chrome, open the three-dot menu and choose Passwords and Autofill, then Google Password Manager. You can also type chrome://password-manager in the address bar, or visit passwords.google.com in any browser if you save passwords to your Google Account.

• View one: under Passwords, select a site, then Show password. Chrome asks you to confirm it is you first.
• Export all: in Google Password Manager, select Settings on the left, then Download file next to Export passwords. Chrome asks you to confirm again. The result is a CSV file in plain text.

Treat that export as dangerous. It holds every password readable by anyone who opens it. Save it somewhere temporary, import it where you need it, then delete it and empty the Trash. Do not leave it in Downloads, and never put it in cloud storage or a message.

Saved on the device, or in your Google Account

Google's help says that when you are signed in to Chrome you can save passwords to your Google Account, and when you are not, Chrome stores them locally on your device. That split appears to be why both Login Data and Login Data For Account exist: the first is the device store, the second the account store. Passwords in your Google Account also appear on your other signed-in devices and on the web, so deleting the local file does not delete them. They come back when Chrome syncs.

Moving passwords to a new Mac

Do not copy Login Data. Either sign in to the same Google Account on the new Mac and let Chrome sync, or export the CSV, bring it in with Import passwords in Google Password Manager (it asks you to select a CSV file) and then delete the CSV. If you are moving to another password manager, look for its option to import a CSV file.

Removing saved passwords

Use the password manager, not Finder. Select a site and choose Delete. To remove everything at once, Google's help points to Delete data in Google Password Manager's settings, and Chrome's Delete browsing data also has a Passwords and other sign-in data option. Moving Login Data to the Trash while Chrome is running is a bad idea: it can leave Chrome confused, and with account passwords the entries return anyway. If you must, quit Chrome first, and know that you are discarding every device-saved password.

Why Spotlight finds nothing

Login Data sits in ~/Library/Application Support, and Spotlight and Finder searches leave that area out. The name has no extension and a space in it, so even a filename search for "passwords" does not match it.

Finding the file when you need it

Typing Login Data into Everywhere lists the copy for every Chrome profile at once, each with its full path, so you can see which profile folder has the biggest one. It matches names only and never opens or reads the file, which suits this one. Use ⌘↵ to reveal it in Finder, and leave the contents alone.

Common questions

Where is Chrome's saved password file on a Mac?

~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/Login Data, or the same file inside numbered folders such as Profile 1 for other profiles. Check chrome://version for your Profile Path.

Can I read Chrome's Login Data file?

Not usefully. It is a SQLite database whose passwords are encrypted with a key kept in your keychain as Chrome Safe Storage, so the file alone never shows a password and will not decrypt on another Mac.

How do I export Chrome passwords on a Mac?

Open Google Password Manager (chrome://password-manager), choose Settings, then Download file next to Export passwords. Delete the exported CSV as soon as you have imported it, because it is plain text.

Why do my passwords come back after I delete Login Data?

Passwords saved to your Google Account are restored from your account when Chrome syncs. Remove them in Google Password Manager instead.