Take Control of Android’s Default Apps for a More Cohesive Experience

Choice is probably the first word that comes to mind when people talk about Android. From different manufacturers implementing vastly different specs like camera sensors, CPUs and battery capacities to the diverse OEM skins, there’s no shortage of choice. Alternatives are great. But it can be a bit annoying or even mind-numbing at times if there’s too much to choose.

From opening a simple browser link to choosing a gallery app to play back a home video, Android can at times get bothersome because the choices it offers. Thankfully it’s possible to correct this by setting default apps to handle every task and that’s built right into the Settings app.

Set Default Apps for Actions in Android

Step 1: Open the Settings app and scroll down till you see Apps.

Step 2: Once inside the Apps menu, tap the gear icon present on the right-hand side of the menu bar.

Press the gear icon to go into Configure Apps

Step 3: This will open the Configure apps screen where users can set defaults for Android launchers, browser apps, dialers, etc. To set a default tap the category of an app and select the app from your installed apps.

Tap the app category to set its default

Step 4: To choose how to handle links in an app by app basis select the Opening links button. Here you can choose how to handle the supported links displayed inside each app.

Configure how links are handled in each app

In typical Google fashion, even if the option is a welcome addition, it’s not intuitively placed and is hard for most users to spot. But here’s hoping Google fixes the placement in future releases.