How to Change Your Default Browser

Your default browser is the one that opens when you click a link in an email, a chat or another app. You set it in your device's settings, and every major browser has a button that takes you there.

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Installing a new browser doesn't make it your default. Until you change the setting, links from other apps keep opening in the old one: Edge on most Windows PCs, Safari on a Mac or iPhone, and usually Chrome or Samsung Internet on Android.

The setting belongs to your operating system, so the sections below are organised by device. Each one gives the system steps first, then the shortcut inside each browser. The browser buttons mostly just open the right system screen for you. Two things to know first:

• The browser has to be installed first. It only shows up in the list once it's on the device.
• Some links ignore the setting. A few apps and system features open their own browser no matter what you choose. The last section covers those.

Windows

On Windows 11

1. Open Settings and select Apps > Default apps.
2. Under Set defaults for applications, type the browser's name in the search box and select it.
3. Next to Make [browser] your default browser, select Set default.
4. Check the list of file and link types below it. Set default covers web links (http and https) and web pages (.htm and .html); if you want PDFs or other file types to open in the new browser too, select each one and pick the browser.

In the European Economic Area, Set default covers a longer list of link and file types, and pins the browser to the taskbar (and, on Windows 11, to Start) unless you untick those options.

On Windows 10

Go to Start > Settings > Apps > Default apps, select the browser under Web browser, and choose the new one. Microsoft ended support for Windows 10 in October 2025, but the setting works the same.

From inside the browser

• Google Chrome: More (three dots) > Settings, then Make default in the Default browser section.
• Microsoft Edge: Settings and more (three dots) > Settings > Default browser > Make default. Shortcut: edge://settings/defaultBrowser.
• Mozilla Firefox: menu button (three lines) > Settings, then Make Default… at the top of the General panel. Shortcut: about:preferences#general.
• Brave: main menu > Settings, then Make default in the Get started section.
• Opera: Opera menu > Settings (Alt + P), scroll to Default browser and click Make default.

On Windows these buttons usually open the Default apps screen, where you finish with Set default. If the button is missing, that browser is already your default.

Mac

On macOS Ventura and later

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings.
2. Click Desktop & Dock in the sidebar.
3. Scroll down and pick a browser from the Default web browser menu.

On macOS Monterey and earlier, the same menu is in System Preferences > General.

From inside the browser

• Google Chrome: More > Settings > Make default under Default browser.
• Microsoft Edge: Settings > Default browser > Make default (edge://settings/defaultBrowser).
• Apple Safari: Apple's own guide uses System Settings > Desktop & Dock. Safari's Settings > General also offers a button to make it the default when it isn't.
• Mozilla Firefox: Firefox > Settings, then Make Default… in the General panel.
• Brave: Settings > Get started > Make default.
• Opera: Opera menu > Settings or Preferences (⌘ + ,), then Make default under Default browser.

When a browser's button changes the default, macOS asks you to confirm. Choose to use the new browser rather than keep the old one.

Android

1. Open the Settings app and tap Apps.
2. Tap Default apps (on Samsung phones, Choose default apps).
3. Tap Browser app and select the browser you want.

Menu names vary a little between phone makers, but every recent version of Android has a Browser app setting. In the EU, new phones may show a choice screen during setup that asks you to pick a browser; you can change that choice here at any time.

From inside the browser

• Google Chrome: More (three dots) > Make Chrome default, or More > Settings > Default browser.
• Mozilla Firefox: menu > Settings, then turn on Set as default browser and pick Firefox.
• Brave: main menu > Set as default browser.
• Microsoft Edge and Opera: use the system steps above.

iPhone and iPad

On iOS 18.2 and later

1. Open the Settings app and tap Apps.
2. Tap Default Apps at the top.
3. Tap Browser App and choose the browser.

You can also go to Settings > Apps, tap the browser itself, then tap Default Browser App. On iOS 14 to 18.1, that per-app route is the only one. On iOS 17 and earlier the browser is listed further down the main Settings screen rather than under Apps: tap it, then Default Browser App.

In the EU and Japan, your iPhone may show a browser choice screen asking you to pick a default from a list. Whatever you choose there, you can change later with the steps above.

From inside the browser

• Google Chrome: More > Settings > Default Browser > Go to Settings, then Default Browser App.
• Mozilla Firefox: tap Go to Settings on the card Firefox shows, or use the system steps.
• Microsoft Edge, Brave and Opera: use the system steps above.

Safari is the iPhone's built-in browser, so to switch back to it, choose Safari under Browser App.

If links still open in the old browser

• Some apps use their own browser. Social and news apps often open links in a built-in viewer instead of your default browser. Look for an Open in browser option in that viewer's menu, or a setting in the app such as "open links externally". Apple notes that some Mac apps also open pages in a browser other than your default.
• Windows sends some links to Edge. Outside the European Economic Area, links from Widgets, the Windows search box and some Microsoft apps can still open in Edge whatever your default is. In the EEA, Windows Search, Widgets and the lock screen use your default browser.
• On Windows, check the file types. If .html files or PDFs still open in the old browser, go back to Settings > Apps > Default apps, select your new browser and set those types individually.
• On Android, check "Opening links". If a link opens in an app (like YouTube) rather than your browser, that's the app's link setting, not the browser default. Change it under Settings > Apps > Default apps > Opening links, or on that app's page in Settings > Apps: turning off Open supported links sends its links to your browser.
• Updates can reset it. A system update now and then switches the default back. If links suddenly open in the old browser, repeat the steps above.
• Work or school devices may have the default locked by your IT department.