Easily Detect Hidden Passwords in Any Browser
Autocomplete is a great setting if you don’t want to have to remember and enter your password every time you log into your account online. In fact, we strongly recommend that you use a password manager (and take advantage of the autocomplete features) to keep track of secure passwords. But autocomplete makes it easy to forget your passwords if you need to enter them elsewhere.
Fortunately, there is a way around this .
Whether you’re using a password manager like LastPass or letting your browser save passwords, your browser will always block the password field with asterisks for added security. To unmask and reveal your password, you just need to do a few things:
- Right-click (or CTRL + click) the password field and select Validate Item. This brings up the developer console.
- On the line starting with “input type = password”, replace the word “password” with “text”. You may need to double-click to make the field editable. This will show your password.
While the interface may look slightly different, the steps are the same in most browsers.
While you can always go into your browser’s settings (or your password manager) to find your saved passwords, it’s a much faster way to see your hidden passwords. And once you have the information you need, remember to change the text back to “password” to hide your credentials.
This story was first published in 2012 and was updated on 12/05/19 with more detailed and up-to-date information.