Syncing your browsing data with Chrome is often confusing and intimidating. What if your Google Account credentials are compromised? That puts all personal data at risk, be it credit card information, sensitive autofill data, or bank passwords. And hearing about Google’s privacy scandals doesn’t make things any easier.
But what if you could implement an extra layer of encryption for your personal data? That would make a world of difference, wouldn’t it? Thankfully, that’s where Chrome’s little-known ‘sync passphrase’ feature comes in. So check out how it works and then go through all the related stuff you need to know before you start using it.
The case for sync passphrase
Whenever you sign in to Chrome, it easily starts syncing your browsing information with your Google Account. You can then access the data on any other PC or Mac, as well as on Android and iOS mobile devices. It’s pretty convenient to have that happen. Few browsers offer such cross-platform syncing, and Chrome excels at providing a seamless experience.
However, this poses major security-related holes, especially when you only have your Google Account password to protect your data. While you can choose 2-Step Verification to protect your account from unauthorized login attempts, there’s always the chance that the account has been included through a potential security hole.
But regardless of whether you use 2-step verification for your Google Account, ‘sync passphrases’ can help keep your personal information secure in the long run. Set up a code, and you need to insert it whenever you want to sync data with Chrome on a new device — treat it as your master password that only you know.
The passphrase completely encrypts your data on Google’s servers, which means even Google can’t read it. And if your account is compromised, the sync passphrase works in a way that makes it impossible for anyone to get hold of your data. But how?
The passphrase completely encrypts your data on Google’s servers, which means even Google can’t read it
For a moment, imagine a hacker using your Google Account credentials to sign in from somewhere. Syncing to the cloud requires a passphrase, and hackers won’t know it. That means your data is safe. But what if the hacker chooses to remove the passphrase?
However, that action alone will delete all synced data on Google servers while forcing Chrome out from all devices. Your data remains securely present locally on each of your devices. And the hacker gets nothing.
Sounds pretty neat, doesn’t it? And except for a few small reasons that you’ll learn about next, there’s really no reason why using a sync passphrase shouldn’t be a priority.
Things you should keep in mind
While using a sync passphrase enhances the security of your synced data, Chrome will start to behave slightly differently once you set it up. The following checklist will help you figure out possible changes.
1. Browsing history will not be fully synced
Any websites you visit through Google search results will not show up in the History panel of other synced devices. That’s pretty weird and can be a potential deal breaker if you rely heavily on the feature. However, websites that you visit directly (by entering a URL), as well as any active tabs and search queries, will sync normally.
Tips
2. Can’t check Google password online
Since Google itself cannot decrypt your passwords thanks to the additional encryption applied by the passphrase, you can no longer use the Google Passwords page to check them online.
3. No personalized Google feed
Any type of Google feed — Chrome suggested articles, Google Discover feed, etc. — will not show recommendations related to web pages you visit on Chrome. However, you can still view content based on the websites you visited before adding the passphrase.
4. Use passphrases on any device
Chrome requires you to use the same passphrase on every device to sync your browsing data. You can’t just apply it to the devices you want. Of course, you could still log in without inserting a passphrase and use a device that doesn’t have sync capabilities, but that would defeat the whole purpose.
5. Smart password lock not working
You won’t be able to rely on Google’s Smart Lock for Passwords feature to automatically sign in to apps on Android. Again, this is because Google can’t decrypt your password outside of Chrome.
Set up a sync passphrase
Setting up a sync passphrase on Chrome is pretty easy and can be done on any of your devices. However, after creating a passphrase, you need to apply it to your other devices as well for a complete syncing experience. The following steps will show you how to switch to using sync passphrases on both desktop and mobile.
Step 1: Open the Chrome menu, then click Settings.
Step 2: In the People section, click Sync.
Note:
Step 3: Scroll down to the Encryption options section (on mobile, tap Encrypt), then click the radio button labeled Encrypt Synced Data with your own sync passphrase.
Then, insert the passphrase in the fields labeled Passphrase and Confirm Passphrase, then click Save.
Note: Same as with strong passwords
Step 4: Now that you have generated a passphrase, you need to insert it into your other devices running Chrome. Simply launch the browser and you will be prompted to add the passphrase as a push notification or a pop-up notification.
Step 6: Add your passphrase, hit the Submit button and you’re ready to go.
Once you’ve added the passphrase to all your devices, your synced data is secure.
Reset or remove sync passphrase
If you forget your sync passphrase, or if you ever want to go back to the way things were, all you need to do is reset Chrome Sync. It’s pretty easy to do, and you don’t have to go through any verification process to remove or change the passphrase. But as mentioned earlier, that doesn’t indicate any security issues.
The reset procedure will delete all synced data from Google servers and you will also be forced to sign out of Chrome on all devices. That prevents unauthorized individuals from re-syncing your data from the cloud after the reset. And since any local data isn’t deleted from your device, you’ll be able to start syncing once you sign in again.
Step 1: On Chrome’s Encryption Options section (or after tapping Mobile Encryption), click the link labeled Reset sync.
Step 2: Scroll all the way down, then click the button labeled Reset Sync.
Step 2: Click OK on the confirmation box.
Step 3: Wait a moment for Chrome to delete synced data on Google servers. However, it does not delete any locally stored data.
Step 4: You will be prompted to enable Chrome Sync. Do it.
Step 5: Go to Chrome’s Settings panel on your other devices, then sign back in to the browser.
Chrome has now reverted to syncing your data without a passphrase. If you want to set up a new passphrase, you need to go to your browser’s Encryption Options section, then start from scratch.
Should you switch to using passphrases?
As you’ve seen, passphrases offer a much-needed security advantage when it comes to personal information. Even if your account credentials are compromised, the chances of anyone getting hold of your passwords and other sensitive data are pretty low. This is, of course, provided that you do a good job of setting a strong passphrase and protecting it in the first place. So will you start using sync passphrases?
Categories: How to
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
