Some people love iOS’ Safari web browser, but if you’re the type of person who would rather use a third-party alternative like Chrome or Firefox, then you might be disappointed to learn that Apple doesn’t let you configure a default web browser apart from Safari. On the other hand, those with jailbroken handsets can have their cake and eat it too.
With the help of a new jailbreak tweak called BrowserDefault by iOS developer lpane, you can choose the default web browser apart from Safari that your handset will use to launch web links when tapped.
As noted in BrowserDefault’s repository depiction, the tweak supports the following third-party web browsers out of the box:
- Safari
- Firefox
- Firefox Focus
- Google Chrome
- Brave
- Puffin
- Dolphin X
- Cake
Support for new web browsers may be added in the future, but if you use a web browser that isn’t officially supported, you’ll be pleased to know that you can probably still use it with BrowserDefault (assuming you know that app’s bundle ID).
As you might come to expect, BrowserDefault adds a preference pane to the Settings app where you can configure the tweak to your needs:
Here, you can:
- Choose a default web browser from any of the available presets listed above
- Enter the bundle ID of a custom web browser app if it isn’t supported out of the box
- Enter the URL scheme for that app if applicable
- Enable or disable the use of percent escapes
A respring isn’t necessary to save your changes, but according to the developer, you will need to wait a moment for any changes you make to take effect.
The concept of setting a third-party web browser to act as the default on the iOS platform isn’t new, and we’ve seen many jailbreak tweak releases just like BrowserDefault in the past. On the other hand, BrowserDefault is designed with the latest jailbreaks in mind and plays nicely on iOS 11 and 12.
If you’re interested in trying BrowserDefault for your own personal needs, then you can download it for free from the Packix repository in Cydia or Sileo.
Do you prefer using a third-party web browser over Safari? Let us know which one and why in the comments section below.
