Going through settings and choosing default apps is usually not something many users do. More times than not, the default apps are configured through use. You tap a link, you see a prompt, and you choose an app that will open these kinds of links by default. However, Default app settings come in handy when you want to make some changes later on. We made sure to provide detailed instructions on how to change default apps on Android below.
Table of contents:
- What’s different on Android 12
- Set default apps or clear default apps for links on Android
- Clear default apps for links on Android
How to change default apps when opening links on Android
To change default apps on Android, you still need to go to Settings > Apps > Default apps. The same goes for clearing the default apps for opening links.
Google made some changes and it seems that other OEMs incorporated them, too. Keep reading to find out.
What’s different on Android 12
The default apps and default opening links settings have been pretty much the same for a couple of Android versions. However, for some categories (like the Default browser app), you had the option to clear defaults for apps that can open links and make System UI prompt you to choose from various apps every time.
That’s not the case on Android 12. On Android 12, you need to choose between options and set one as the default one. Really not sure why they decided to push this because many users prefer to use different browsers for different links. Personally, I don’t like mixing my for-fun browsing (Firefox) with work-related stuff (Google Chrome).
If you like to use different browsers for different links within system resources and keep pre-installed Chrome, you’re out of luck. You can, of course, uninstall Chrome or disable it and use Chrome Beta with different browsers. If you clear defaults, you should get the same multi-browser prompt as on Android 11 and earlier. Which is exactly what I did.
Also, there are third-party apps that can replicate the old approach, like the Choose Browser (Play Store link) or Open Link With… (Play Store link) that can be used to open web links in a browser of choice through the Share menu. For the latter, you need to allow it permission to mimic a browser in Advanced > App features > Set as the browser.
Set default apps on Android
With that out of the way, here’s how to choose default apps on Android 12 and 13:
- Open Settings.
- Select Apps.
- Open Default apps. On some devices, open Apps > Manage apps or All apps > 3-dots menu > Default apps.
- Choose the default apps for each category from the available ones. The categories are pretty self-explanatory.
Clear default apps for links on Android
And this is how to clear default opening links settings on Android 12:
- Once again, open Settings > Apps > Default apps.
- Tap Opening links.
- Open an app you want to stop opening associated links.
- Tap Clear defaults. Toggle off the Open supported links option if available.
Many third-party apps have built-in browsers and, if you want to change that, check the settings in each one and disable it. That way, all links will open in the default system browser. Apps like official Reddit are an exception because it deals with external links in an awful way and you can’t really change that except by switching to a wrapper app like Boost for Reddit or Infinity.
With that said, we can conclude this article. Thank you for reading and don’t forget to share your thoughts with us. How do you like Android 12 so far? Tell us in the comments section below.
Editor’s note: This article was initially published in February 2022. We made sure to revamp it for freshness and accuracy.
