Update
We have recently opened a new issue for tracking this particular case of data loss, as the last issue that we were using was co-opted into a more recent data loss issue that was specific to passwords, introduced with the bump to Chromium 127.
Our developers are still working to resolve this issue. For further tracking of this, please refer to the following Github issue:
Thank you
Hello Community
(note that issue is not related to Rewards)
We have noticed a significant uptick in user reports concerning a random/unexplained loss of data in the browser. Based on these reports, it appears that the data in question can be anything stored locally/in the browser — from passwords, to bookmarks, to all browser profile data. I have left a list of some example reports below for reference.
Reports of data loss
Brave Browser Bug - #5 by Mattches
Randomly lost all of my saved passwords - #3 by geluk
After Brave Crash, lost all passwords - #2 by Mattches
50 bookmarks VANISH - #2 by Saoiray
Everything got reset except saved passwords and bookmarks on Windows update - #2 by Mattches
Lost saved passwords (and log on cookies ?) - #2 by Mattches
Leaving Brave soon - #5 by Frank19335
Lost all saved passwords after PC crashed
Brave removed ALL my saved passwords - #6 by Mattches
Lost all my data - #11 by SmartyAadi
Lost all my data - #2 by SmartyAadi
Saved passwords disappeared and password Manager won't save new ones
Brave crash, lost passwords
Data disappeared
Reason for disappearance of stored login info - #7 by Saoiray
Passwords Lost wtf - #4 by Mattches
All my password data was deleted during update
I wanted to update you all on the status of this issue and assure you that our developers are actively looking into it.
Issue is likely Chromium based
This issue appears to be inherited from the underlying Chromium engine, rather than something that is specific to Brave and you can see similar examples of this happening on Chrome and other browsers as well.
How does this get fixed then?
As this is an important issue, rather than waiting for a fix to come from upstream (as we often do with Chromium based issues), we are attempting to see if this is something that is within our scope to fix ourselves. Note that this is a non-trivial issue and a rather large undertaking and may take some time. You can read more about this in the “Advanced reading” section below.
Actions users can take to help
If you have encountered this issue, where data in your browser has seemingly mysteriously disappeared, first please confirm the following:
- You are not accidentally using a different/separate browser profile than you normally do
- You did not accidentally clear any relevant browsing data via
brave://settings/clearBrowserData, nor do you have this data set to be cleared “On exit” - You did not recently change your system password or have it forcibly changed via an administrator (Windows users only)
Any of the above scenarios would explain why you no longer see your data in your browser.
However, if the above does not apply to you and your passwords (or other data) seem to have randomly disappeared from the browser (for example, you shut your computer down for the night and when launching Brave the next morning, your data isn’t present), below are some steps you can take to help us help you.
We will use this thread to gather information on this issue for the developers to review. If you have encountered this issue, please respond to this thread with the as much of the following information as you can provide.
Basic data to gather
-
What OS are you using where the issue occurred (be as specific as possible, eg Win 10, Win 11, macOS Ventura v13.3.1)?
-
For macOS users, verify that Brave has access to the system keychain by going opening
Keychain Accesson your system, clicking theLogintab on the left and ensure thatBrave safe storageis listed here.
-
What Brave version you have installed (you can view this by opening the browser and going to
About Brave) -
When/how/what actions were taken when the data loss occurred (eg, Did the browser crash? Did this occur after a system restart? Did this occur after an update? etc.)
-
If the issue did occur after a crash, providing us with the crash report ID would be helpful (you can do this by going to
brave://crashesand sharing the crash report ID left under the event) -
Please tell us exactly what data was lost (was it just passwords? Passwords and bookmarks? All data? etc.).
-
Are you using a password manager extension? If so, is
Offer to save passwordsenabled?
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Are you using Brave Sync?
- If so, can you please check and see if the other machines/devices on the chain have this login data saved/intact still?
Advanced Reading
Brave uses Chromium and doesn’t have any deviations in the code with regards to saving logins. The logins are saved to the Login Data file inside the profile folder and the password field is encrypted using an internal (to Chromium) library called OSCrypt. When OSCrypt fails to decrypt the password, it won’t show the entry in brave://settings/passwords. However, you can use a SQLite editor like DB Browser for SQLite to open the Login Data file and you’ll see the logins in there (with password being encrypted).There are a few ways where you can run into a situation where OSCrypt fails to decrypt the password and it looks like the logins were lost.
- If you copy your files from one machine to another, you won’t be able to access those decrypted passwords (you should use sync instead)
- If your password is forcibly changed by an administrator. You might be able to change your password to what it was before to resolve the problem.
- If you deny access to Keychain when it asks you (macOS) when launching Brave. It needs that access to encrypt/decrypt.
When these cases happen, a new key is created meaning you can’t decode the entries that were encrypted with the old key. The key and the encryption are OS specific. macOS stores the secret in Keychain and you need to grant access for Brave to access keychain to store and read this secret, otherwise you can’t decrypt the passwords for a login.We’ve looked at the code and having found anything obvious - we don’t have any changes to logins, we’re just using the Chromium code. We know that Chrome and Chromium users experience this too and we’re still trying to understand the reasons how the key can change.
Advanced data to gather
(note that the information below pertains primarily to loss of password/login data)
-
Histograms information can be very helpful for us — you can find this information by going to
brave://histograms/OSCryptand clicking theDownloadbutton. If you have these data, please simply say (in your reply) “I have histograms to share” and I will DM you so that they can be sent securely. -
It can be very helpful to know whether or not
Login data(where passwords and login data are stored) still holds your information information and it simply isn’t being decrypted, or if it’s just blank and the data has been fully cleared. Note that theLogin datafile is an SQLite file and requires a SQLite DB viewer to view properly. If you do not have one, I would recommend this one as it is free and easy to use. To check if your data is present:
For Windows users you can locate your Login data file by going to:
C:Users\[your user name]\AppData\Local\Brave Software\Brave-Browser\User Data\Default
For macOS users you’ll find it in
~/Users/[your user name]/Library/"Application Support"/Brave Software/Brave-Browser/Default
For Linux users you’ll find it in
~/.config/Brave-browser/User data/Default
Once your Login data file is located, open the file using your SQLite viewer and confirm whether or not your data is still present here.
We do appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding here and hope to have a solution to this issue as soon as possible. If anyone sees a Community member reporting this issue, please direct them to this thread.
Thank you
is there any offline installer to degrade to old version ?