As an experienced tech writer and Chrome user for over 5 years, I often get asked how to properly back up bookmarks in the Chrome browser. After all, bookmarks are valuable – they save us time by letting us access our favorite and most useful sites quickly. Losing them can be frustrating and cost us productivity.
The good news is that Chrome makes it easy to export, back up and restore bookmarks. In this comprehensive, step-by-step guide, I’ll explain exactly how to do this on both desktop and mobile.
Table of Contents
Why You Should Backup Your Bookmarks
Here are some key reasons why backing up your Chrome bookmarks is important:
- Avoid losing bookmarks if you switch browsers or computers – If you decide to use Firefox or Edge instead of Chrome, you can take your bookmarks with you by backing them up first. The same applies when getting a new computer.
- Restore bookmarks if Chrome crashes or resets – Sometimes Chrome can crash or reset and wipe your bookmarks. A backup lets you restore them instead of starting from scratch.
- Sync bookmarks across devices – You can use a bookmark backup to sync all your Chrome bookmarks on mobile, tablet and desktop. Very convenient.
- Peace of mind – No one likes losing valuable data. Backups give you peace of mind knowing you can always restore your bookmarks if anything goes wrong.
How To Export Google Chrome Bookmarks
Exporting Chrome bookmarks creates a backup file on your local device. Here is the step-by-step process:
On Desktop
- Open the Chrome browser on your computer.
- Click the 3-dot menu button in the top right and select Bookmarks.
- From the drop-down menu, choose Bookmark Manager. This opens your bookmarks panel.
- In the bookmark manager, click the 3-dot menu button again and choose Export Bookmarks.
- Select a location on your local device or external drive to save the bookmarks backup file. By default, Chrome exports bookmarks to an HTML file.
- Click Save to export bookmarks to the selected location.
The key things to note are:
- The exported file is saved as bookmarks.html by default
- You can rename the file when exporting
- The file can be imported back into Chrome or other browsers later
On Mobile
The process is very similar on mobile:
- Open the Chrome app on your Android or iOS device
- Tap the 3-dot menu button in the top right
- Choose Bookmarks
- Tap the 3-dot menu button again and select Export bookmarks
- Select a location like Google Drive or iCloud to save the backup file
- Tap Save to export your mobile bookmarks
The exported HTML file contains all your mobile bookmarks ready for backup.
How To Backup Google Chrome Bookmarks
Once you have successfully exported your Chrome browser bookmarks, you need to back them up. Here are some popular options to backup the file:
1. External Hard Drive or USB
For a physical backup, save the exported HTML file on an external hard drive, USB flash drive or SD card. Store this in a secure location so you can restore bookmarks if needed.
2. Cloud Storage
Cloud services like Google Drive, Dropbox or iCloud offer secure cloud backups. Upload your exported bookmarks file to cloud storage for an online backup. Access it from anywhere.
3. Backup Software
Use backup software like Apple Time Machine or Windows File History to create automatic backups of your exported Chrome bookmarks file along with other important files.
4. Redundant Backups
For maximum security, utilize multiple backup methods. For example, store bookmarks on an external hard drive and also upload to cloud storage. Redundant backups minimize risk.
No matter which backup option you choose, be sure to back up your exported file regularly, such as weekly or monthly. This gives you multiple recovery points.
How To Restore Chrome Bookmarks From Backup
If you get a new device, switch browsers or lose your bookmarks, use these steps to restore bookmarks:
On Desktop
- Click the 3-dot Chrome menu and select Bookmarks.
- Choose Import bookmarks and settings.
- In the popup, click Choose file under Bookmarks HTML File.
- Browse and select your previously exported HTML backup file.
- Click Open. Then click Done to finish importing bookmarks.
That’s all there is to it! All your bookmarks will now be restored in Chrome desktop.
On Mobile
Similarly for mobile:
- Tap the 3-dot Chrome menu then Bookmarks.
- Choose Import bookmarks.
- Select your exported HTML file from cloud or local storage.
- Tap Open and then Done to complete restoration.
You can repeat these bookmark restoration steps whenever needed. Just use your latest HTML backup file.
Conclusion
I hope this detailed guide has helped explain how to properly export, back up, and restore bookmarks in the Chrome browser. The key takeaways are:
- Use the Export bookmarks feature to backup Chrome bookmarks
- Save the exported HTML file on external drives, cloud storage etc.
- Restore bookmarks anytime by importing the HTML file
Backing up your browser bookmarks takes just minutes but gives you great peace of mind. You have the convenience of syncing bookmarks across devices and can recover from any data loss incidents.
So be sure to follow these steps for your Chrome browser and take control of your valuable bookmarks! Let me know if you have any other questions.