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You can control how links open apps on Android

You can control how links open apps on Android

When you open a file or link, Android often asks you which app you want to “open” it with. While this can be convenient in most cases, it can also easily become annoying. Allow me to show you how to take back control to make navigation easier.




Android phones used to have a little pop-up window asking you which app you wanted when you tapped a link somewhere. For example, when you open an Epub file, any Epub reader on your phone will appear in this popup. You can choose a different app to open the eBook each time or set a default app. They are called app links.

What I’ve laid out is a reasonable way to handle links. It ensures that every time you click a link, you go to exactly the app you want. You should only have to tap a Spotify or YouTube link once for the app to open. Link management on Android no longer works this way (more on this in a few articles).

Android 12 introduced an “app link verification” feature that allows websites (not us) to decide how to open a link automatically. This means that a link (like Spotify) starts in the browser first.


It takes three taps to open Spotify

A friend of mine recently sent me a Spotify recommendation via Telegram. I tapped the shared link and the web version of Spotify loaded into Telegram’s in-app browser. Tapping the play button on this web version opened the link in the default browser. I tapped the play button in the default browser again and the Spotify app (finally) opened. It took three taps and two web pages to open a Spotify link in the Spotify app.

In newer versions of Android, when you tap a “verified” link (like Spotify), the default browser acts as an intermediary. It redirects you to the corresponding app and bypasses the classic “Open with” dialog. You can view the list of some verified links for each app in System Settings by tapping the “Open by default” menu in the app list.


Why everything opens in the browser first

The problem is that not all official links are included in the verified links list. Sometimes tapping an official link takes you to the browser or Play Store instead of launching the app. For example, I have the Slack app installed, but when I tap a Slack link in another app, I’m redirected to the Slack website in the browser and asked to sign in. When I tap Slack Android on the website, I’m redirected to the Play Store. Although it is supposedly the official link, it is not considered verified because behind the scenes, this particular Slack link type is not included in the verified list.

By default, all “unverified links” open in the default browser (Google Chrome is a common browser). The default browser then starts the corresponding external app.


This whole design takes control away from you because you can’t choose which of your supported apps should open that link. For example, if you tap an unverified location link in your messaging app, it will open in the browser instead of redirecting to the rideshare or mapping app of your choice. When you tap a Reddit link in Chrome, you’ll be taken to the web version of Reddit in Chrome instead of going to the Reddit client on the phone.

Unless you manually select a different browser, the manufacturer’s chosen browser will process all “unverified” links.

There is no perfect way to restore the Link functionality that older Android phones had. The best thing you can do is install a third-party app and use it as an intermediary. However, you need to set it as your default browser. Once this is done, the app will allow you to set a default browser. It’s pretty neat, but not as seamless or bug-free as the native handler.


You’ll need to install a third-party “link handler” app that acts as the default browser and allows you to set default settings when you click a link (just like in older versions of Android). There are a number of link management apps that you can download from the Play Store. I tested Link Eye and Better Open With. Both work equally well, although Better Open With is more feature-rich, so we’ll use that one here.

To set it up, install the Better Open With app from the Google Play Store and open it. Then set this app as your default browser. To do this, open the Settings app and go to the Default Apps settings. It’s usually located in Settings > Apps > Default Apps. Under “Default Apps,” select the browser and set it to “Open better with.”


The next time you tap a link, “Better open with” should appear at the bottom with a timer so you can choose your preferred app. You can select a link and open it using the “Open better with” selection.

You can set defaults for file and content types (incidentally, Android 12 and later still lets you control these links natively). You can also change the layout of the app selection popup and disable or change the countdown timer and its position in the Better Open With settings. You can set any app as a “favorite” or default app by tapping the star icon next to it.


You can also set default apps from the pop-up menu. Unless you install a new app that handles exactly this type of link (e.g. a ride-sharing app that works with Google location pins), the default setting will remain active.

Even with an app like Better Open With, link processing won’t always work smoothly. Occasionally this app will fail and simply ask you to open a link with one of your installed browsers instead of the corresponding app. Other times it simply tries to redirect you to a browser.

You can no longer control link processing in the Settings app, but you can restore at least some of these features using third-party apps.