Using Bookmarks Manager to back up Chrome bookmarks

bookmark in open book

If you use Chrome bookmarks a lot then it can be a real nuisance to lose them

long thin bookmark in open bookThere can be several reasons why you might wish to back up your Chrome bookmarks

Amongst them are:

  • If Chrome has problems and you need to re-install it then you will probably want to re-install your bookmarks as well. Bookmarks Manager can handle this
  • If you wish to install Chrome on another computer (either as a replacement or as an additional computer) then you would also want your bookmarks

Now, Google (who own Chrome, of course) would suggest that the best solution is to stay permanently logged into your Google account while using Chrome. That way, you can store your bookmarks in the cloud and synch them to other devices.

That is the simplest solution and it does mean that changes on one device are reflected in other devices. It also means that your bookmarks are safe.

On the other hand, it means that you are always logged into your Google account and that, it turn, means that Google can hoover up even more data about you and your online activities. I did once ask Gemini (Google’s own AI) whether this was the case and Gemini did, indeed, confirm that Google know more about your online activities if you sign into your Google account while using Chrome.

The alternative is to use Bookmarks Manager to export them to a file

Yes, Chrome (like other browsers) has an easy method for backing up your bookmarks for easy subsequent importing into another instance of Chrome. Easy, that is, if you know where to look. It goes like this:

3 steps to Chrome bookmark manager

1) Click on the three dots to the top right of the Chrome window

2) Click on “Bookmarks and Lists” in the menu now offered

3) Click on “Bookmark manager” in the menu that has just appeared

3 dots in Chrome bookmarks manager

4) Click on the second instance of three dots that now appears below the first instance

5) Click on “Export bookmarks”

6) Chrome will now ask you to confirm a name and location for the file you are about to create

Importing a Bookmarks File using Bookmarks Manager

Importing bookmarks is almost the same as exporting.  In the last step, choose “Import bookmarks” (directly above the “Export bookmarks” option). Then you select a previously saved bookmarks file.

Backing up Chrome Extensions

If you are a fan of browser “extensions”, then you may wonder if there is a simple way of backing up extensions as well. The short answer is that there is a complicated technical procedure that you could try to get to grips with, but there is no simple method.

What I do is to go into “Extensions” and then “Manage extensions” (from the initial 3 dot menu). Then I take screenshots of the installed extensions. At least that way I would know which extensions I needed to re-acquire in a new installation.

It would be tedious to repeat these steps for all browsers, but they all have similar procedures. Note, though, that some browsers refer to “bookmarks” and others to “favourites”.

“Bookmarks manager” is definitely an easy way to carry out re-organisation of your bookmarks. If your needs are more sophisticated, then there are other bookmark managers – see https://creativesfeed.com/best-bookmark-managers/, for instance.

For another way to limit Google’s ability to check your online activity, see https://www.davidleonard.london/2023/07/15/different-browsers-for-different-things/


Image by freepik

Image by freepik

Screen grabs from Chrome