How To: Sync Google Chrome Bookmarks to your Android Device using ChromeMarks
Image Source: Google Chrome
If you're a Chrome desktop user who also has an Android device, it is highly likely that you have two different sets of web bookmarks - those on your desktop computer being the "definitive" list, and a hastily put-together approximation of this on your Android - which is probably missing a few important bookmarks you've yet to get round to adding on the daily commute.
This, of course, is not an optimum way of keeping track of your favourite jaunts around the internet, and it inevitably leads to frustration. Help is at hand, however - Google Chrome provides (in conjunction with the ChromeMarks extension) functionality that allows you to automatically synchronise your bookmarks from your desktop computer to a mobile handset.
That's right - automatically view any bookmarks you add on your desktop computer on any other device running Android OS. If it sounds too good to be true, run through the simple steps in our guide and see for yourself!
In addition to an active Google account, you will need Google Chrome on your desktop and an Android device(s) to run through the steps in this guide successfully.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- 1
Open Google Chrome on your desktop computer and sign in to Google using your regular Google account.
- 2
Click the wrench icon in the top left hand corner of Google Chrome (parallel with the address bar) and choose Options, then Personal Stuff and Set up Sync.
- 3
Choose the Data Types tab and check the Bookmarks box. You can optionally specify any other personal data you want to share with your other Chrome instances by checking the relevant boxes on this page.
- 4
Click OK to confirm the settings. Your Chrome bookmarks will now be synced automatically whenever you install Chrome on another desktop computer and sign into Google.
- 5
To achieve the same effect on an Android device, you need to first install a third-party application called ChromeMarks. On your Android, launch Chrome and access the homepage for ChromeMarks. Install the extension, and then launch it once installation has completed.
- 6
In the ChromeMarks application window, choose Sync. The application will connect to your Google account and download the current list of bookmark entries. These can then be accessed by launching ChromeMarks on the device. Select a bookmark to access that page on your Android device.
Tips & Advice
- The paid version of ChromeMarks allows you to integrate its functionality within the native Android web-browser. In the Settings menu, select the Integrate Chrome Bookmarks in Local Browser option, and you will be able to access your Chrome bookmarks via the bookmarks menu in the Android default browser.
- Note: Android OS 4.0 (also known as Ice Cream Sandwich) offers Google Chrome bookmark synchronisation natively, e.g. without the use of third party applications such as ChromeMarks. So another alternative, if you really want to be able to easily synchronise bookmarks across instances of Google Chrome, is to upgrade to Android OS 4.0 and enable bookmark syncing in Google Chrome on both the desktop computer and handset.
