Chrome bookmarks not syncing? Fix it step by step

Updated 18 October 2026

Chrome syncs bookmarks between devices that are signed in to the same Google Account with Bookmarks turned on. When bookmarks don’t arrive, check those two things first, then whether the missing ones were saved while you were signed out, which keeps them on one computer. The checks below go in that order.

1. Same Google Account on every device

On each computer, click the profile picture at the top right and read the email address. It has to match on every device, your phone included. Each Chrome profile is separate too, so bookmarks in a work profile won’t show up in a personal one.

2. Bookmarks is turned on

Open the three-dot menu > Settings > You and Google and select your account name. Under In your Google Account, make sure Bookmarks is on: Chrome’s own note there says data with the switch off is saved only to this device. On a work computer, an administrator can leave bookmarks out of sync with the SyncTypesListDisabled policy, and chrome://policy shows whether it’s set.

3. Sign-in is paused

If you signed out of Gmail or another Google service, Chrome pauses and shows Verify it’s you at the top right. Select it, then Sign in again.

4. The bookmarks live on one computer only

Since mid-2025, bookmarks you saved while signed out stay on that device when you sign in, and they don’t move to your account by themselves. The Bookmark Manager lists them under Only on this device. On that computer, click your profile picture and choose the option to save items in your account (it reads “Save x items in Account”), keep Bookmarks ticked and select Save in account. The Save in your Google Account button next to a bookmark or folder in the Bookmark Manager does the same one item at a time.

5. Sync turns off when Chrome closes

If you have to sign in again after every restart, Google’s fix is Settings > Privacy and security > Site Settings > Additional content settings > On-device site data, then turn on Allow sites to save data on your device.

6. A sync passphrase is waiting

If you set your own passphrase to encrypt Chrome data, Google’s help says you need to enter it on every device where you’re signed in; until you do, that device can’t read your synced data. The setting lives under Settings > You and Google > your account > Encryption options. Google also notes that passphrase trouble can need the latest version of Chrome.

7. More than 100,000 bookmarks

Google’s help puts the limit at 100,000 bookmarks in your Google Account (checked October 2026). Over that, delete bookmarks you don’t use or export them. Removing duplicates is a quick way to get back under.

8. Update Chrome

Open the three-dot menu > Help > About Google Chrome. Chrome checks for updates on that page; click Relaunch if one is waiting.

9. Still stuck: sign out and back in

Export your bookmarks first (how to export). Then click your profile picture > Sign out of Chrome and sign in again. Google says your info stays in your Google Account when you sign out: the account’s bookmarks leave the computer and come back when you sign in, while device-only bookmarks stay put. For a technical view of what sync is doing, open chrome://sync-internals.

What syncs and what doesn’t

Bookmarks made on your phone usually show up on the computer in the Mobile bookmarks folder. Bookmarks that extensions create sync like any other when they’re ordinary Chrome bookmarks: Stackboard, for example, keeps its board in Other bookmarks › Stackboard, so it follows these same rules, while its themes and wallpaper stay on each computer.