We respond to this all the time, it is an extremely difficult issue to diagnose and is likely tied to issues with the underlying Chromium engine. If you want assistance here I’m happy to do so.
opened 11:27PM - 08 Aug 24 UTC
security
OS/Linux
OS/macOS
priority/P2
needs-discussion
feature/password-manager
release-notes/include
OS/Desktop
Chromium/reported upstream
dataloss
### Description
This issue is a continuation of a previous and ongoing [issue… ](https://github.com/brave/brave-browser/issues/33548) that was recently closed. Previous issue description:
> Please note that this issue has been ongoing for sometime now.
>
> We have noticed a significant uptick in user reports concerning a random/unexplained loss of data in the browser. Based on these reports, it appears that the data in question can be anything stored locally/in the browser — from passwords, to bookmarks, to all browser profile data. This issue occurs across all [desktop] platforms.
>
> We started tracking individual instances of this issue occurring in a document here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Caau3LFaktSXv4vmecmTkQjr7XOtuaQK9G2ozol43_Q/edit?pli=1#gid=0
>
> Please also note that the above document is not representative of all the reports received and that particular document is not quite up to date at this time. We do however have an ongoing Community thread where we have been collecting Community user reports, along with additional instructions for these users to follow and extra steps they can take to get us the data we need:
> https://community.brave.com/t/notice-unexplained-data-loss-issue/485498
- - -
The purpose of this issue is to continue tracking users losing data (passwords, bookmarks, history, etc) that proceeded (and continue to persist) the [password decryption issue](https://github.com/brave/brave-core/pulls?q=is%3Apr+%22Uplift+of+%2325040%22+%22Enbl+%60SkipUndecryptablePasswords%60+on+Linux+%26+macOS%22+%22uplift+to%22+) that was introduced with the bump to Chromium 127.
The issue itself is largely unchanged — users are seeing different data types in the browser "disappear" due to know discernible reason/intentional action taken by the user. This includes any kind of data held in the browser, as shown in the sheet linked above. While I believe that most of these cases are _not_ due to user error/behavior, there are a few caveats where there are _known_ reasons in which this occurs.
### Known occurrences (will continue to add to this list)
Scenarios in which data loss is expected include:
**Keychain deleted or inaccessible**
For macOS users, the secret used to encrypt/decrypt is stored in the macOS Keychain. If this Keychain gets deleted, permission is lost (rendering the Keychain inaccessible), or if the [user's] profile folder is moved to a new machine (which doesn't have that keychain), then the new machine will not be able to read the secret and decrypt the data and data loss would be expected.
**Corrupted, deleted or moved `Local State` file**
For Windows users, the secret key is stored in the `Local State` file. If this file (or the entire profile folder) is copied and moved to a new machine, the new machine will be unable to decrypt the secret and a new key would be generated, resulting in data loss.
Additionally, if the `Local State` file is corrupted (or if this file is deleted) this will likely result in a loss of data as well, as the secret will not be able to be decrypted and a new key will be created.
### Troubleshooting Steps/Helpful information
At this time, troubleshooting and _relevant_ information that users (or devs) can share on this is a bit scattered, so I will use this section to reorganize and highlight what information can help resolve this issue. For now, please refer to the "[Actions users can take](https://community.brave.com/t/notice-unexplained-data-loss-issue/485498#actions-users-can-take-to-help-4)" section in the Community thread for basic troubleshooting and information gathering.
**Additional troubleshooting:**
- **Finding `Local State.bad` file (Windows only):**
If your `Local State` file gets corrupted for any reason, it will move itself out of the way and change its name to `Local State.bad` and replace itself with a "fresh" `Local State` file (which, again, would present as a loss of data). You would be shown an error when launching into Brave:
You can look for this in your `User data` directory by going to `%LOCALAPPDATA%\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data` on your PC. There, you should see the `Local State.bad` and the new `Local State`.
This error might happen if you edited the `Local State` file. It's in JSON format - you can try pasting the `Local State.bad` content into a JSON validator to ensure there isn't something wrong with the formatting. The encryption key will be stored under the JSON object `os_crypt`. If you're up for some text editing, you can copy this node over from the `Local State.bad` into the new `Local State`.
### Steps to reproduce
N/A
### Actual result
N/A
### Expected result
Data stays safe and intact in browser
### Reproduces how often
No steps to reproduce
### Brave version (brave://version info)
Issue has been present since v1.50x up to the most recent release.
### Channel information
- [X] release (stable)
- [X] beta
- [X] nightly
### Reproducibility
- [ ] with Brave Shields disabled
- [ ] with Brave Rewards disabled
- [ ] in the latest version of Chrome
### Miscellaneous information
_No response_