It's time to dump Chrome as your default browser on Android

Jack Wallen makes his case for Android users to switch from Chrome as their default browsers. He also shows you how. by JackWallen in Mobility onNovember9,2021,1:12PMPST JackWallenmakeshiscaseforAndroiduserstoswitchfromChromeastheirdefaultbrowsers.Healsoshowsyouhow. Image:rafapress/Shutterstock I'mgoingtobehonesthere,Idon'tuseawebbrowserveryoftenonAndroid.MostoftenIstickwithspecificapplications.Now,IgetthatsomeofthoseapplicationsareSinglePageWebappsthatareprobablyusingbitsofChromeunderthehood.Butasfarasusingafull-fledgedwebbrowser,it'sonlysporadiconmyphone. SEE:BYODApprovalForm(TechRepublicPremium) MoreaboutMobility It'stimetodumpChromeasyourdefaultbrowseronAndroid GooglePixel6cheatsheet:Everythingyouneedtoknow BestChromebookfor2021:Whichoneshouldyoubuy? 6easytipsforcleaningupyourpersonalandprofessionalinbox(TechRepublicPremium) Untilprobablyayearago,Ididn'tmindusingChromeonAndroid.Itwasbuiltin,offeredseamlessfunctionalityanddidn'treallycauseanyproblems.Butayearisalongtimeintechterms,andalothashappenedinthosemonths.Atsomepointin2021,IswitchedmydefaultAndroidbrowsertoFirefox.Afterall,Iwasusingtheopen-sourcebrowseronmydesktop(whichIspendmostofmyworkdayon),soitmadeperfectsense.IcouldkeepmydesktopandmobilewebbrowserinsyncandeverythingfunctionsasIexpect.DuringmytimewithFirefoxonAndroid,Ihaven'thadanyissues.OntheoccasionthatIneededawebbrowser,itfunctionedperfectly.AndnotusingChromeonAndroidwasano-brainerforme. Forothers,thismightbelessofano-brainer.Afterall,themajorityofmobileuserssimplywanteverythingtofunctionasexpectedanddon'tcaretotakeextrastepstodosomethingassimpleasviewawebpageonaphone.Butit'stime.It'sreallytime.Actually,it'spasttime.I'mnotgoingtoboreyouwithstatisticsortech-speakhere,becauseIwantyoutounderstand(withouthavingtoturntoyourtechnicallyinclinedfriends)whythisisimportant.SEE:GoogleChrome:SecurityandUItipsyouneedtoknow (TechRepublicPremium)ChromehasatargetonitsbackGoogleChromehasbillionsofusersworldwide.AccordingtoStatcounter,Chromehasa64.67%strangleholdovertheglobalmarketshare.ThenextbrowserisSafariwithonly19.06%.That'samassivegap.Whatdoesthismean?Essentially,itplacesatargetonthebackofChrome,andhackerseverywhereunderstandiftheywanttocatchusersunaware,theirbestshotisviaChrome.Googleknowsthisandregularlyissueswarningstouserstoupdatetheirbrowsersasap.Someofthosewarningsaredire(orshouldbetakenassuch).Andanyuserthatdoesn'tconstantlycheckforChromeupdatesisplayingadangerousgameofchickenthattheywilleventuallylose.Thisisagamethatwillnotendanytimesoon.Chromehasalwaysbeenvulnerable.Andbeyondtheusualvulnerabilities,backinMarch,itwasdiscoveredthatGooglecollectsmoredatathananyotherbrowser.Considerthis:Googleisinthebusinessofmonetizingdata.That'sGoogle'sbreadandbutter.It'swhat'smadethemthemostwidelyusedsearchengineontheplanet.EverybusinesswantstogaintheGoogleedge,andusersfindthesearchaccurateandeasy.ButwhenyoucoupleGoogle'sneedtocollectdatawithitsbrowserthatcollectsmoredataandrequiresfrequentupdatestopatchanever-growingnumberofvulnerabilities,youhavearecipethatisnotonlydangerousbutanaffrontonprivacy.Andthatiswhy,monthsago,ImadetheswitchtoFirefoxasmydefaultAndroidbrowser.I'mnotsayingyoushouldswitchtoFirefox(althoughit'sasolidchoice),butyoushouldmoveawayfromChrometoanotherbrowser.Fortunately,Androidhasplentyofsolidoptions,suchasOpera,Vivaldi andBrave.HowtoswitchyourdefaultMakingtheswitchisquitesimple.OpentheAndroidSettingsappandgotoApps|Defaultapps.Intheresultingwindow(FigureA),tapBrowserapp.FigureATheDefaultsappswindowinAndroid12.Inthenextwindow(FigureB),tapethebrowseryou'dliketouseasyourdefault,andyou'regoodtogo.FigureBChangingyourdefaultbrowserfromChrometoanybrowseryouhaveinstalledissimple.Atthispoint,anytimeyoutapalinkthenewlysetdefaultbrowserwillopen,insteadofChrome.YournextstepwouldbetosignoutofChromeandturnoffSync.Youcandothisbydoingthefollowing:OpenChromeTapthethreeverticaldotsintheupperrightcornerTapSettingsTaptheemailaddressassociatedwithyouraccountTapSignoutandturnoffsync(FigureC)FigureCSigningoutofChromeanddisablingsynccanhelpensureChromedoesn'tassociatedatawithyouraccount.Atthispoint,thereisnosimplewaytoremoveChromefromAndroid.That'stobeexpected.ButaslongasyoucanavoidusingChromeasyourdefault(andkeepitsignedoutofyouraccount),yourdatawillbeabitsafer. Anystepyoucantaketoprotectyourselfonamobileplatformshouldbeconsideredastepforward.UntilChromenolongerhasaglaringtargetonitsbackandGoogleendsitspracticeofcollectingmoreandmoreuserdata,IwillalwaysuseadifferentbrowseronAndroid,andyoushould,too. 5GandMobileEnterpriseNewsletter 5Gnetworksanddevices,mobilesecurity,remotesupport,andthelatestaboutphones,tablets,andappsaresomeofthetopicswe'llcover. 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It'stimetodumpChromeasyourdefaultbrowseronAndroid WomenandmiddlemanagerswillleadtheGreatResignationinto2022 HowWindows11makesupdatessomuchsmaller Linuxfinallyhasanimpressivecloud-likeOSinUbuntuWeb BestRaspberryPiaccessoriesandalternativesfor2021 Commentandshare:It'stimetodumpChromeasyourdefaultbrowseronAndroid ByJackWallen JackWallenisanaward-winningwriterforTechRepublic,TheNewStack,andLinuxNewMedia.He'scoveredavarietyoftopicsforovertwentyyearsandisanavidpromoterofopensource.FormorenewsaboutJackWallen,visithiswebsitejackwallen.... | FullBio | SeeallofJack'scontent RelatedTopics: Mobility Android Security Hardware Software Apple Google MobilityonZDNet ShowComments HideComments LOGINTOCOMMENT MyProfile Logout |CommentingFAQs|CommunityGuidelines JoinDiscussion LOGINTOCOMMENT AddyourComment