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Android: Change the Default Browser App

If links from messages or emails keep opening in Chrome even though you installed Firefox or Opera, Android is still routing them to its old default browser. Several browser apps can be installed side by side, but only one of them actually catches outside links. Until you switch that assignment, the other apps stay untouched in the background.

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Step 1 of 5: Tap on **Settings**

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Android 14 · Android 14
Set Default Browser App – Android 14: step 1 – Tap on Settings
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Android

Set Default Browser App auf Android

Android allows several browser apps to sit installed side by side, so having Chrome, Firefox, Opera and Brave on one phone at once is normal. Only one of them can hold the default browser role at any time, and that role decides which app opens whenever you tap a link outside a browser itself - inside messages, emails, or other apps.

This assignment is managed centrally in the app settings, not inside each browser. If links keep opening in an app you no longer want, the system simply never received the instruction to switch. Changing it does not touch bookmarks, saved passwords, or browsing history in the other apps - it only changes which app catches the link.

To update it, go to SettingsAppsDefault appsBrowser app and pick the app you want under Default browser app. If the browser you expect is missing from the list, open it at least once first so Android can register it as an available handler.

Switching the default browser never uninstalls or disables the other apps. It only redirects future link taps, and you can still open any installed browser manually whenever you need it.

Frequently asked questions

Some apps open links in their own built-in browser view instead of asking the system, so they bypass the Default browser app setting entirely. This is normal behavior for many social media and shopping apps.