Before iOS 14, you could manually copy the required link, open the browser of your choice, and paste it inside that. This proved to be quite a tedious experience for many users.

Apple, however, has made some progress, and now, as long as you’re running iOS 14, iPad 14, or higher, you can set any third-party browser as the default on your iPhone or iPad.

To update to iOS14 or IPad14

• Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install available updates.

Setting Google Chrome as the Default Web Browser on iPhone & iPad

1. On your iPhone or iPad, open the App Store and search for Chrome.
2. Tap Get, then tap Install.
3. Enter your Apple ID Password and tap OK.
4. To start browsing, go to your home screen. Tap the Chrome app.

To make it a default,

1. Open Settings on the iPhone or the iPad.
2. Scroll down and find Google Chrome in the list of available settings.
3. Tap the Default Browser App option.
4. Select Chrome in the list of other browsers available on your device.

Another way to set Chrome as the default browser on iPhone:

1. Open Google Chrome on iPhone.
2. Tap the button with three dots in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
3. Select Settings.
4. Tap “Default Browser” then “Open Chrome Settings”.
5. Tap “Default Browser App” and select “Chrome”, and that will set Chrome as the default browser on iPhone or iPad.

Setting Brave as the Default Web Browser on iPhone & iPad

The privacy-centric web browsers, like Brave, are starting to gain popularity, so it’s reasonable for iPhone and iPad users to wonder how they can change their default web browser to such browsers in iOS or iPadOS.

The brave web browser has many privacy-focused features, including built-in tracker blocking, ad blocking, and other features that can help to improve your online privacy.

It also performs well, and web pages tend to load quite fast, partially because it’s blocking so much of the activity going on under the hood of many websites, like various cookies, ad servers, and potentially intrusive JavaScript.

Here is how to;

• Download the Brave browser from the App Store
• Go to “Settings” then scroll down to find “Brave”
• Tap on “Default Browser App”
• Tap to choose “Brave” as the default browser.
• Close Settings and enjoy Brave as your default browser on iOS and iPadOS

If you just downloaded Brave and don’t see it in the Settings yet, open the Brave app first, then return to the Settings app to find Brave available.

Now any link you open through email, notes, messages, or apps, will launch directly in the Brave browser app.

How to Make Microsoft Edge the Default Browser on iPhone or iPad

If you’re already a Microsoft Edge user on your Windows PC or Mac, it makes sense to use it on your iPhone or iPad, too. Before proceeding, make sure that you have Microsoft Edge installed on your iPhone or iPad.

After it is downloaded, we can begin by opening the “Settings” app on your iPhone or iPad. Swipe down on your device’s home screen to use Spotlight search if you can’t find the app icon.

• Download the Edge browser from the App Store
• Go to “Settings” then scroll down to find “Edge”
• Tap on “Default Browser App”
• Tap to choose “Edge” as the default browser.
• Close Settings and enjoy Edge as your default browser on iOS and iPadOS.

You can now tap the back arrow and exit the Settings menu. From now on, Microsoft Edge will automatically be used for links and other browser-related actions on your iPhone or iPad, which is great if you’re already using Edge on your other devices.

Setting Firefox as the default browser for iOS

If you’re on an iOS 14+ device and have Firefox 28.2 or higher, you can set Firefox as your default browser.

Older versions of iOS:

Apple does not allow changing the default browser on older versions of iOS (pre-14), but there is a workaround to give it a try.

Send pages from Safari to Firefox

From Safari, tap the share icon at the bottom of the screen to bring up the share menu. (Note: You can also long-press on a link on a page to bring up the share menu.)

Choose Firefox as the destination in the share menu.

If Firefox is not among the listed options, tap the More button in the first row of the share menu.

Tap the switch next to Firefox to enable it.

You’ll also be prompted to set Firefox as the default browser via settings once you launch the updated version of the app.

If you were not able to find the “default browser” option in your Firefox settings, it’s likely that Firefox is not up-to-date to a new required version, or that you’re not on a modern 14+ version of iOS or iPadOS.

Update the App and iOS/iPadOS to gain this ability, considering that your device is compatible with the latest releases.

Conclusion:

All these modern browsers are cross-platform compatible. This means there are available versions for iPhones and iPad too. If you like the Chromium-based browser, you can use it anywhere, and everywhere you wish to, just be sure the web browser app supports this feature.

If you were unable to find the “default browser” option in your browser settings, chances are, your browser hasn’t officially got an update to support this feature, or you’re running on an older version of iOS or iPadOS. Update both the apps and system software, to iOS 14 or iPadOS 14 or later, and you should gain this capability.

At the moment, not all third-party browsers may support this feature. This is because developers need to first update their respective apps to be able to support this new feature.

Now that you’ve set your preferred web browser as the default browser app on your iPhone and iPad, you’re free to click links elsewhere in iOS and iPadOS and the browser of your choice will launch instead of Safari.

Remember, if you ever delete the current default web browser app, your device will reset Safari as the default browser app.