There’s only so much you can remember, and bookmarks are a great way to dive right into the websites you visit frequently. It’s the unique productivity hack that saves you hours of typing and reviewing your browsing history. While Google Chrome has made it easy to add and access bookmarks, sharing bookmarks with others isn’t straightforward. Whether you use Google Chrome on a Mac, Windows desktop, or one of the best Android phones, sharing multiple Chrome bookmarks with friends and team members is a hassle.
There are several ways to star your tabs with others in Google Chrome. Let’s start with a native method and move on to third-party extensions to create a bookmark folder synced with others.
Share Google Chrome bookmarks in an HTML file
It’s the easiest way to share your Google Chrome bookmarks. The only limitation is that you cannot select which bookmarks you want to export. Google Chrome exports all bookmarks from your browser. The recipient needs to import the same to their browser to view the websites. Unless you’re migrating to a different browser or machine, this might not be the ideal way to share bookmarks with others.
Export your Chrome bookmarks
- Open Google Chrome and click on the three-dot menu in the upper right corner.
- Develop Bookmarks and open Bookmark manager. You can also use keyboard shortcuts Control+Gap+O (Windows and Linux) or Ordered+Option+B (Mac).
- Click on the three-dot menu in the upper right corner and select Export bookmarks.
- Chrome creates an HTML file of your bookmarks that you can save to your computer and then share.
Remove unwanted bookmarks from HTML file
You can use an HTML editor to remove links you don’t want to send, but that’s tedious and there are better solutions, which are mentioned below. But if you choose to use this method, do not include confidential or bookmarked private links in the HTML file.
Import the HTML file to another computer
Once the recipient receives the file, they must import the bookmarks into their browser. Here’s how.
- Launch Google Chrome and navigate to Bookmark manager (see steps above).
- Select the three-dot menu in the upper right corner and click Import bookmarks.
- When Finder (Mac) or File Explorer (Windows) opens, locate the HTML file and select Open.
- Google Chrome imports the bookmarks and syncs them to the recipient’s profile.
Good old copy-paste
A more flexible method is to manually select the bookmarks you need to share and copy and paste them into a chat or email.
- Open the Bookmark manager in Google Chrome (check the steps above).
- Highlight the bookmarks you want to share using Gap+Click on Where Control+Click on (Ordered+Click on on Mac).
- Right-click on bookmarks and select Copy from the context menu.
- Paste the bookmarks into an email or chat with your recipient.
This can be a bit tedious if the list of bookmarks is long or if you do this frequently. The output is also not user-friendly because the recipient has no way to easily import all the bookmarks. Still, it’s the easiest way to share a selection of your bookmarks.
Third-party extensions
The above two methods might seem too crude compared to third-party Chrome extensions that let you share bookmarks effectively. Several extensions promise such functionality, but the one we find the most reliable is TeamSync Bookmarks. It creates a folder in your bookmarks bar and syncs the folder with a group of verified mail contacts. While it performed well in our testing, there are some mixed reviews. Your mileage may therefore vary.
- Download TeamSync bookmarks from the Chrome Web Store.
- Created a Account (Google sign-in is available as a simple option).
- The extension works by creating folders which are synchronized via email. Create a folder.
- Enter the email addresses of people you want to share bookmarks with.
- Save any bookmarks you want to share in the new folder.
Other users must install the extension in their browser and log in using the email address you invited them with. At this point, they should have an invite in their inbox. Once signed in, anyone you’ve invited sees the same folder in their bookmarks bar, and bookmarks you save in that folder sync automatically, as does anything they add.
TeamSync offers a free plan for sharing bookmarks with up to four people. If you’re a power user, the premium plan ($60 per year or $8 per month) lets you share and sync bookmarks with more than one group or more than 20 members. You can sign up for a seven-day free trial before committing to the paid plan.
Google Collections: A Better Solution?
Google has a better way to share links, but it’s in the Google mobile app, not the Chrome browser. If you use the app regularly, Collections is a great way to mark content for easy access and sharing. It’s also easy to add collaborators, who can access and add their bookmarks to the shared folder.
Here’s how to use this feature in the Google app for Android and iOS.
- Open the Google app on your phone and go to collections tongue.
- Press the New icon in the upper right corner.
- Enter the collection name and description.
- Faucet Create.
- To add links, click the bookmark icon in the top bar when browsing with the Google app.
- By default, Google adds all links to the last collection you used, but you can change which collection it’s saved to when bookmarking.
- To add collaborators to a collection, open it (follow the steps above) and tap the Share icon next to your profile icon.
- Choose between read only Where donor and share the link with the intended recipients.
Bookmark and Done
These are the most convenient ways to share bookmarks with your friends and family from Google Chrome. If you’re looking to further optimize your Chrome experience, there are plenty of nifty tips and tricks for Chrome on the desktop. Try them!