Helpful Info & FAQ for Brave Users

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How to Back Up Your Brave Data on Desktop

For long-term backups, it’s essential to export your passwords, bookmarks, and wallet information manually. Sync should not be relied on as a backup solution since the Sync Code changes daily. Here are the best methods for backing up your data.

Official Backup Method (Recommended)

  1. Export Passwords
    Go to brave://password-manager/settings and click Export to download your passwords.
  2. Export Bookmarks
    Go to brave://bookmarks/ and click Export Bookmarks from the menu in the top-right corner.
  3. Back Up Your Brave Wallet
    If you use Brave Wallet and haven’t saved your recovery phrase, go to brave://wallet/crypto/backup-wallet to get your phrase.

Restoring Your Data

  1. Import Passwords
    Go to brave://password-manager/settings and click Import to select your saved passwords file.
  2. Import Bookmarks
    Go to brave://bookmarks/ and click Import Bookmarks from the top-right menu.
  3. Restore Your Wallet
    Go to the Brave Wallet section, click Restore, and enter your recovery phrase and create a new password.

Additional Backup Option (Advanced)

For users who want to preserve more than just passwords and bookmarks (such as extensions or settings), you can back up your user profile folder. However, this method is not officially recommended as it can cause issues, especially with version mismatches.

  1. Export Passwords and Bookmarks
    Follow the same steps listed above to export passwords and bookmarks.
  2. Find Your Profile Path
    Go to brave://version and find the Profile Path. It will look something like C:\Users\yourname\AppData\Local\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Default.
  3. Back Up the \brave-browser Folder
    Use your file explorer to navigate to the User Data folder and back up the entire folder to an external drive or cloud storage.

Restoring Your Profile

  1. Install Brave
    Install Brave on your new device or after resetting your current one.
  2. Replace the Profile Folder
    Replace the new \brave-browser folder with the one you backed up earlier.
  3. Import Passwords and Restore Wallet
    Follow the steps from the Official Backup Method to restore passwords and wallet information.

Note: This method is less reliable, especially if you’re restoring from an older Brave version. Issues may arise with extensions, settings, and version compatibility.

Short-Term Sync Method (Not Recommended for Backup)

While Sync allows you to transfer data between devices, it should not be used as a backup solution. The Sync Code changes daily, and relying on it could result in data loss.

  1. Set Up Sync
    Go to brave://settings/braveSync/setup and create a Sync chain. Write down the Sync phrase, but remember it will change every day.
  2. Restoring with Sync
    Go to brave://settings/braveSync/setup, select I have a Sync Code, and enter the code (valid for 24 hours). This will restore your synced data.
  3. Wallet Recovery
    If needed, go to the Wallet section, click Restore, and enter your recovery phrase.

Important Reminder

Always manually export and save your passwords, bookmarks, and wallet recovery phrase. Sync should only be used for syncing data between devices, not as a reliable backup.

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