Browsers always hide passwords behind asterisks or dots to make sure others can’t spy on them. This can be tedious when there are too many passwords to remember. Often you need the convenience of seeing them in plain text, especially difficult passwords.
The following methods will allow you to see your password typed in your browser instead of the asterisks.
Warning: Although the methods for revealing passwords are secure, it is important to keep your passwords hidden as much as possible.
How to reveal hidden passwords in browsers?
1- Reveal saved passwords in the browser
All major browsers allow saving passwords when you connect to a website. Often they can be viewed in browser settings. Does this pose a privacy issue? Yes, because passwords are kept in clear text and can be exposed by simply clicking on the “Show password” option.
Whether or not you want to save the password, you always receive a one-time reminder. This gives you the option of not saving very sensitive passwords. You can also periodically check and delete one or more of the saved passwords.
Check methods to reveal saved passwords behind asterisks in Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and Mozilla Firefox as given below.
Microsoft Edge (Chrome Version)
The Chromium-based version of Microsoft Edge is a big improvement over the previous version, and that’s largely due to the fact that it’s Chrome-based and runs on similar (if not slightly faster) way.
- Go to Edge://Settings/Passwords and check that the option to save passwords is activated, which should be the case by default. In the future, when you enter your login credentials on any website, Edge will offer to save them. This is an option you can accept or decline.
- To see your saved passwords in Microsoft Edge, click on the three-dot menu icon in the upper right corner, then go to “Settings -> Profiles -> Passwords”.
- In the list of passwords, click on the eye icon next to the password you want to reveal.
Cloud sync and multiple user profiles
When you install Edge, it creates a default profile for you and all passwords you save are tied to this profile. However, these passwords are deleted when you clear the browser cache, and you cannot sync them across devices.
To get a more permanent view of Edge passwords (and sync them across multiple devices), it’s a good idea to back them up to a Microsoft account. You can also use Gmail, Skype, or a work or school account instead of Hotmail. It only takes a few seconds to get started. Click the Profiles button (user icon) in the toolbar, then click the “Connect to sync data” button under the default profile.
As soon as you log in, your existing passwords are saved to your account and each time you save a new password, it is added to the list.
You can create several profiles via the Profiles menu or the toolbar button. To save passwords and view them for a particular profile using the instructions above, you must first switch to that profile.
Google Chrome
To save and reveal passwords in Google Chrome, here is what you need to do:
- In Chrome browser, go to “Settings -> Autofill -> Passwords”. You can also access this location via the person icon in the top right. Look for the prominent wrench icon in the pop-up window that appears.
- Activate the option “Offer to save passwords” to receive reminders when you log in.
- If you enter a new password on a site, Chrome will ask you to save it. To accept, click on “Save”.
- Go back to “Settings -> Autofill -> Passwords”, and you should see a list of saved passwords. Click the Show Password button (eye icon) to show it.
- Chrome also lets you copy or remove the password from a three-dot menu.
Just like in Microsoft Edge, passwords are saved in the profile by default. You can back them up to your Google account to make sure you don’t lose them when you clear your browser cache.
If you have configured multiple user profiles in Chrome, remember that you must switch to the correct profile to save passwords there and to view saved passwords.
A welcome feature of Chrome’s password manager is a list that tells you if any of your passwords have been compromised in a recent security breach on one website or another. You can then view the passwords in question and go to their sites to change them to something more secure.
Mozilla Firefox
- In Firefox, go to “Options -> Privacy and security -> Usernames and passwords”. Check all the boxes under “Ask to save usernames and passwords for websites”. Unlike Google Chrome, Firefox allows you to use a primary or “master” password as a top layer over all saved passwords. This is a very useful security feature.
- From now on, Firefox offers to save all the passwords you enter. Click “Save” to continue.
- All saved passwords are recoverable from “Options -> Privacy and Security -> Logins and Passwords”. You can click the “show password” icon to display the password. You can also copy username and password from the prominent icons to remove passwords easily.
2- Use the Show password option
When logging in, several websites allow you to remove dots or asterisks using a “show/hide” checkbox in the password field. This option is best if you don’t want your sensitive passwords remembered. It is also the easiest method that works seamlessly across all browsers.
Once you’ve peeked, it’s easy to hide the password.
Show/Hide passwords option is available for all mainstream websites like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, Netflix, Yahoo, Dropbox, Instagram, Reddit, Quora, and many more.
On many websites, instead of the show/hide checkbox, you will see an eye icon in the password field. Many banking and credit card sites also offer this feature to prevent invalid password attempts.
3- Show password from developer options
A browser’s developer option is a good way to show proper password names instead of asterisks.
- In one of the browsers above, right-click and enter “Inspect Element”. You can also type F12 as a shortcut to open Developer Options.
- When you hover the mouse cursor near the password box, you will notice a type field with the value “password”.
- Simply replace the word “password” with “text”, and the password you entered will be automatically revealed.
The same hover technique is applicable to Chrome. Replace the word “Password” with “text” to get the password in clear text.
4- Use a third-party extension
You can also use a third-party extension to display passwords when entering your data in the field. For Chrome, Edge, and any other browser that supports Chrome extensions, ShowPassword is a good option.
- In ShowPassword it is easy to control the timing and effect of showing passwords, which can be done by mouse hover, double click, focus or press the control key. (You can change the effect via the options of the extension).
- Once ShowPassword has access to the site, you can use the registered effect, such as mouse over, to reveal your password.
- As soon as you hover your mouse near the password field, it is displayed.
Unmask Password is another related application that displays the password text in Chrome/Edge as soon as you click in the password field. In Firefox, you can use a similar extension called Show/hide passwords. There is also a similar extension that reveals all password fields for Opera.
FAQ
1- Why aren’t my passwords automatically filled in my browser?
Browsers store additional information, such as passwords, in their cache memory units. Sometimes the cache and cookies can accumulate a lot of information, including in the memory of the browser. This can prevent them from backing up data, including passwords. Therefore, it is recommended that you periodically clear your cache to use your browser’s autofill feature.
2- Is it safe to store passwords in a browser?
This is a major concern for privacy conscious people. The security of these passwords can be compromised if a hacker gains access to your computer, and tricks to reveal the password are very easy as they are stored in plain text format.
However, some browsers are safer than others. Firefox, for example, has a handy “Master Password” entry available in its privacy and security area.
You cannot store the master password in your browser, but it can be used to protect all other passwords.
It is much safer to use an encrypted password manager to store your passwords rather than plain text browser extensions.
