Chrome bookmarks disappeared? How to get them back

Updated 18 October 2026

Bookmarks that vanish from Chrome are often still there: the bookmarks bar is hidden, Chrome opened another profile, or you’re signed out and the bookmarks saved in your Google Account have left the computer for now. If they really were deleted, go to recovering deleted bookmarks before you restart Chrome.

Quick diagnosis

1. The bookmarks bar is hidden

Press Ctrl+Shift+B (Cmd+Shift+B on a Mac), or click the three-dot menu and choose Bookmarks and lists > Show bookmarks bar. If the bar is back but a folder isn’t, open the Bookmark Manager (Ctrl+Shift+O) and search. You can also type @bookmarks in the address bar, press Tab and type a word from the title. Showing the bookmarks bar covers the bar in detail.

From Chrome 156 (rolling out from 20 October 2026), Chrome can also hide a bookmarks bar you haven’t used for a couple of weeks, with a message and an Undo button. Bring it back from Bookmarks and lists > Show bookmark bar > Always show; your bookmarks were never deleted.

2. Chrome opened a different profile

Each Chrome profile has its own bookmarks. Click your profile picture at the top right: your other profiles are listed under Other Chrome profiles. Open each one and look.

3. You’re signed out, or signed in to another account

Google’s help says that when you sign out of Chrome, your info is kept in your Google Account and removed from the device. Sign back in (profile picture > Sign in to Chrome) with the account that holds your bookmarks and they come back. If you have several Google accounts, check the email address in the profile menu. If Chrome shows Verify it’s you at the top right, select it, then Sign in again.

4. They vanish after every restart

If you have to sign in again each time you open Chrome, sync is turning off when Chrome closes. Google’s fix: three-dot menu > Settings > Privacy and security > Site Settings > Additional content settings > On-device site data, then turn on Allow sites to save data on your device.

5. After an update or a sign-in, your bookmarks are split in two

Since mid-2025, Chrome on Windows, Mac and Linux has been rolling out a change: bookmarks you saved while signed out stay on the device when you sign in, apart from the ones in your Google Account. The Bookmark Manager can then show two groups, In your Google Account and Only on this device, each with its own Bookmarks bar folder. Nothing is lost.

To move device-only bookmarks into your account, click your profile picture and choose the option to save items in your account (it reads “Save x items in Account”), or use the Save in your Google Account button next to a bookmark or folder in the Bookmark Manager.

6. They were deleted, here or on another device

A delete on any signed-in device syncs everywhere, whether you did it, someone who shares the account did, or an extension with access to your bookmarks did. If you deleted them on this computer and Chrome is still open, the Bookmark Manager can undo it with Ctrl+Z. Otherwise, the Bookmarks.bak backup or a computer that hasn’t synced yet may still have them; the recovery guide walks through each.

7. None of the above

If the profile, the account and the bar all check out, look at the files. Before you change anything, copy Bookmarks and Bookmarks.bak from your profile folder to the desktop, because Chrome replaces the backup the first time your bookmarks change after it starts. Where Chrome stores bookmarks lists the folders for Windows, Mac and Linux.

Next time

Keep a recent export (how to export), so there is always a copy you can import. If you organize bookmarks with Stackboard, every delete there has an undo, and deleting a whole space asks you first.