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A Google bug left 15 million users unable to access their passwords for 18 hours, causing widespread disruption. The issue has since been resolved.
Key Points
- A Google bug locked 15 million users out of their passwords for 18 hours.
- The issue stemmed from a change in Google Chrome’s product behavior.
- Affected users couldn’t access stored passwords or see new ones.
- The problem was specific to the M127 version of Chrome on Windows.
- Google has since fixed the issue and apologized for the disruption.
In a significant tech hiccup, approximately 15 million users found themselves locked out of their passwords for 18 hours due to a Google bug. This incident occurred between July 24 and July 25, affecting users of Google Password Manager on the Windows platform. The disruption was caused by a “change in product behavior” within Google Chrome, leaving users unable to access previously stored passwords and rendering new passwords invisible.
The bug primarily impacted those using the M127 version of the Chrome browser on Windows, a sizable user base considering Chrome’s vast popularity. The inability to access crucial passwords led to widespread inconvenience, affecting daily activities such as logging into sites and services that rely on password protection. Users were left frustrated and scrambling for solutions.
During the outage, a workaround was available, but it required technical knowledge that most end users lacked, involving the use of a command line flag to launch the browser. Google has since addressed and resolved the issue, which now only requires a simple browser restart to fix. The resolution came after 18 hours of disruption, a period during which many users experienced significant inconvenience.
Google issued an apology to its affected users, stating, “We apologize for the inconvenience this service disruption/outage may have caused.” This incident follows another tech-related issue earlier in the month involving CrowdStrike, which had also caused widespread disruptions.
As the dust settles, users are now able to resume their normal activities with Google Password Manager functioning as intended. This event serves as a reminder of the critical role that digital tools play in our daily lives and the ripple effect that technical issues can have on a global scale.
