Export Safari Bookmarks to Chrome for iOS

One thing I don’t like about mobile browsers in general is that they can’t directly import or export bookmarks. This makes switching browsers downright painful. And that applies to both Safari and Chrome on iPhone and iPad. But don’t give up hope yet. Last week, I talked about a few workarounds for importing Chrome bookmarks into Safari, and for good reason.

Recently, Safari has gotten extremely good due to the multiple updates it has received in iOS 13 and iPadOS. This guarantees a pass.

But of course, that doesn’t mean that Chrome is a bad browser by any means. On the iPhone, it’s still the best in terms of navigation. Also, you cannot ignore the support for seamless cross-platform syncing for Windows and Android-based devices along with macOS.

Today I will show you how to do the opposite – import Safari bookmarks to Chrome. It’s very easy to do as long as you have a PC or Mac on hand. If you have access to both, I recommend using a Mac as it is best suited for this task. Lets start.

Import Bookmarks Using Windows

Safari no longer works on Windows 10 computers, but iCloud does. So with the help of both iCloud app and iCloud Bookmarks extension, you can easily sync your Safari bookmarks with Chrome on your PC. Then you can sync them to Chrome for iOS using Chrome Sync.

But before you do that, you need to make sure Safari is set to sync with iCloud. The following steps will help you do everything in the right order.

Note:

Stage 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad. Then tap your profile, tap iCloud, then turn on the switch next to Safari. If it’s already on, you don’t need to do anything.

Sstep 2: Download and install the iCloud Bookmarks extension for Chrome via the Chrome Web Store.

Download iCloud Bookmarks Extension

Sstep 3 Download and install iCloud for Windows on your PC. There are two versions – a traditional desktop version and a Windows Store version. I recommend installing the second one. Compared to the previous one, it is more convenient to install and has minimal problems.

Download iCloud

Sstep 4: Sign in to the iCloud app using your Apple ID. It should be the same one used on your iPhone or iPad.

Sstep 5: After signing in, click the Options button next to Bookmarks, select Chrome, then click Apply.

Note:

Sstep 6: Restart the computer. Next, go back to Chrome and then click on the iCloud Bookmarks extension next to the URL bar. You should see a confirmation that your bookmarks are now synced to iCloud.

This means your Safari bookmarks stored in iCloud are now downloaded to your PC. You can confirm this by opening the Chrome Bookmarks Manager.

Open Chrome on your iPhone and iPad, sign in with the same Google Account as on your PC (if you haven’t already). Chrome Sync will kick in and you should see your Safari bookmarks waiting for you.

Now you can decide whether to keep the iCloud app on your PC or not. Having it around offers the benefit of constant bookmark syncing between both Chrome and Safari (via the iCloud Bookmarks extension) on your iPhone or iPad. This will come in quite handy if you intend to use both browsers regularly.

Import Bookmarks Using macOS

On a Mac, all you have to do is install Chrome, import your bookmarks from Safari (synced from your iOS device via iCloud), and then use Chrome Sync to import them into Chrome on your iPhone or iPad.

But instead of taking direct action, you must first confirm that iCloud and Safari sync is enabled on both your iOS device and Mac.

Stage 1: On your iPhone and iPad, tap your profile in the Settings app, tap iCloud, then make sure the switch next to iCloud is turned on.

Sstep 2: On your Mac, open the Apple menu, click System Preferences, then click iCloud. Then make sure the box next to Safari is checked.

Sstep 3 Download and install Chrome on your Mac. Then sign in with the same Google Account used in Chrome for iOS.

Download Chrome

Sstep 4: Open the Chrome menu (click the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner of the screen) and then click Settings.

Sstep 5: Under the People section of the Settings panel, click Import Bookmarks and Settings.

Step 6: Select Safari using the drop-down menu, check the box next to Favorites/Bookmarks, then click Import.

And that’s it. Run Chrome on your iPhone and iPad, sign in with your Google Account (if you haven’t already) and you should see your bookmarks right away.

Loaded and Ready to Go

Chrome is arguably the best alternative to Safari on iPhone and iPad, and with these workarounds at hand, it’s quite convenient to pick up and use Google’s flagship browser. I am in a dilemma. Safari has been too good to ignore completely, as I’ve usually done in the past years. But now, there is a constant contention between Safari and Chrome. And workarounds like these that help me stay sane.

Next: New to Chrome on your iPhone or iPad? Then you need to know how to disable those annoying recommended articles.