Why does Google Chrome on my MacBook Pro running macOS 15.6.1 keep on changing the download folder?

I have Google Chrome installed on a M2 MacBook Pro running macOS 15.6.1. I’ve configured Chrome to prompt for the download location whenever I download a file.

On my older Intel MacBook, whenever I would choose a destination folder, Chrome would “remember” the destination folder on subsequent downloads until I chose a different folder.

On my M2 MacBook, Chrome remembers my folder selection sometimes, but it often reverts to the default download folder (/Users/USERNAME/Downloads). Sometimes Chrome remembers the folder selection for a day or two but other times only for an hour or two.

Why does Chrome keep forgetting my folder selection, and what can I do to stop this behavior?

I’ve tried updating Chrome and also removed and reinstalled the app, but this didn’t change the behavior.