Password Manager Passwords Won't Save And Are Removed On Browser Restart

[Shamram]

Description of the issue:

I’m trying to do my own diagnostics and keep finding new information as I go but as it stands it seems that when I try to save/import passwords to the password manager it doesn’t actually save, the password list appears for the current session and then disappears or is removed when the browser is restarted.

Even when the password list is populated for that session (from importing a local csv file) it doesn’t autofill in my information, hence why I think it’s not saving properly.

Steps to Reproduce (add as many as necessary): 1. 2. 3.

I’m not sure how to reproduce this problem if corrupted data files are the issue as that would pertain to me personally, but in a more general sense:

1. Save a password via the password manager or import them from a csv file
2. Try to login using said passwords via autofill (it doesn’t show)
3. Restart the Browser
4. When navigating to brave://password-manager/passwords the imported passwords are gone

Actual Result (gifs and screenshots are welcome!):

the autofill dialogue doesn’t show and no passwords are filled in

the password list appears for the current session and then disappears or is removed when the browser is restarted.

Forgive me, it’s hard for me to multitask and gather screenshots while writing this but I will follow up with them if needed.

Expected result:

My passwords are saved and my login information is autofilled correctly

Reproduces how often:

All the time and especially when I restart Brave

Operating System and Brave Version(See the About Brave page in the main menu):

OS: Linux (KDE Neon) Version: 1.68.137 Chromium: 127.0.6533.100 (Official Build) (64-bit)

Additional Information:

The problem is solved when starting fresh, I did this by backing up then deleting the /.config/BraveSoftware/Brave-Browser/ folder, so it appears it’s a problem with one or more of my data folders or files, maybe they’re corrupted/incompatible?

Ideally I would like to keep my setup as it is if that is possible, especially my bookmarks, the websites I have saved as “Apps” and my Top Sites.
My hope is that someone can help me find the folder(s) or file(s) responsible so I can delete those specifically, or find a less nuclear way to reset Brave.

Here I will try and list anything and everything that I think might be relevant:

• I got into the habit of copying and pasting as a way of backing up and restoring said folder multiple times as I moved from Windows to Linux and then did some Distro hopping but I’ve been using KDE Neon for about a month and Brave worked fine until recently.

• It may be worth noting that my address and payment method are saved and are persistent, my email address/usernames also show up as a prompt when logging in to different websites (unless that’s from my clipboard, like the technology in phones)
  but explicitly: the autofill dialogue doesn’t show and no passwords are filled in.

• I may be mistaken but didn’t Brave previously have the address brave://passwords without the “password-manager” part? If that’s true, then maybe there’s a version conflict?

Things I’ve tried so far:

• Disabling (but not deleting) extensions

• Deleting cache and cookies

• Taking screenshots of the data folder to see if anything changes both while Brave is running and when I restart it

  • I’m not sure if it’s relevant but the only changes I saw were that “SingletonSocket”, “SingletonCookie”, and “SingletonLock” links appeared when running the browser
  • And that a folder called “BrowserMetrics” briefly appeared then disappeared when restarting

[Saoiray]

@Shamram You have one of two problems, or perhaps a combination of two.

Scenario 1:

I see you mentioned “starting fresh.” If you did a reset of your device or anything changed in regards to your OS user account, then you would have lost the encryption key to your passwords. Passwords are encrypted using our OS keychain, which is our password and OS account.

Trying to paste in your \brave-browser folder would carry the old encryption but your changes would have you using a different key. As such, no password would be visible.

Potentially you could kind of test this by doing a new browser profile and then import the CSV you have.

Scenario 2

There is a currently known issue that occurred in the more recent updates. I address this at Aggregate Topic: Lost Passwords in July 2024 update

Similar to scenario 1, something is happening to cause passwords (or a password) to become "corrupt, leading the browser to be unable to decrypt it . When a password can’t be decrypted, it assumes there may be a security breach and it will refuse to decrypt any of the passwords.

There is a potential workaround using the command to skip undecryptable passwords, which allows all other passwords except the “corrupt” one(s) to load. Or you could even just try to revert/downgrade to a prior version of Brave, as people are saying passwords then show.

[Shamram]

Hi @Saoiray, Thank you for your help, I wasn’t expecting a reply so soon!

I’m happy to report that both methods worked, I created a new profile with nothing carried over from my old one except for the imported passwords and they now persist.

Likewise, I added the argument to my shortcut and now the passwords appear on my main profile, they seem to all be there too.

With that said, I noticed in your other post

But no promises whether might run into another issue after you update Brave again.

Is there anything that I need to take into consideration moving forward? Or anything I can do to prepare for said update, just in case?

Oh, and I just saw your note that says you’ll close duplicates, I apologise for not seeing it sooner, it may be worth noting that I searched for “passwords” using the search tool at the top of the forum but your Aggregate Topic: Lost Passwords in July 2024 update didn’t show up in the initial results box so that’s what lead me to make this post and I’ve only just now realised there’s a “more” button when you scroll down, and it shows up there.

[Saoiray]

@Shamram okay, so new profile one should be permanent. You just would need to then move your other stuff over if you have extensions or whatever. Hopefully no further problems.

In regards to the one of adding the argument to shortcut is a workaround and not a solution. It’s just skipping whatever password entries couldn’t be decrypted. But perhaps could last until they finally issue a real fix in the future.

As to question about where I state no promises on another issue after updating was more of a reference to those who chose to downgrade to a prior version of Brave. Especially as auto update tends to be a thing and could get them right back to the same issue if a “fix” wasn’t put in. So just wanted people to be aware.

Lastly, I would say you should try to do occasional backups of any data you find important. For example:

• If you have a lot of tabs you like to have open, save them as a bookmark so if it ever wipes or other problems, you can just reopen.
• Occasionally try to Export Bookmarks to a safe location, preferably an external drive, so if your device or browser are ever lost you don’t risk losing them forever.
• Similarly, do Export Passwords so you have a CSV file somewhere safe.
• If you have 2 devices using Brave, use Sync. While not meant for a backup, it often does tend to keep things safe. But even if using sync, always do physical backups as well.

I guess that would be my advice. Nothing is ever perfect and we never know when something might go wrong. While we can generally trust in browsers like Brave, it’s never good to put “all your eggs in one basket” as the saying goes. Whether it be bad updates, viruses, malware, devices getting lost or damaged, etc. There are a lot of possibilities that can cause data to be lost or corrupted. So doesn’t it make sense to have some sort of backup “just in case” so anything important to us can remain safe?