How to change your iPhone’s default browser

Your iPhone’s browser doesn’t need to be set in stone. 

It was only in Sept. 2020 that Apple released iOS 14, and with it the ability to set a custom default browser on your iPhone. The change was a small but meaningful one, as it gave users the option to essentially never use Safari again. 

Because while Safari works fine, and has some decent anti-tracking tech built in, other iPhone-compatible browsers are no slouch. Take, for example, DuckDuckGo. The privacy-focused search engine makes an iPhone browser app that “automatically [blocks] hidden third-party trackers” and “[forces] sites to use an encrypted (HTTPS) connection where available[.]”

That’s good! 

Sure, you don’t need to set a new browser as your default in order to use it, but if you download another browser on your smartphone it’s probably because you want to use that browser. It’s not like you need to delete Safari or anything. Instead, set it aside for a while and get a taste of what else is out there. 

Here’s how to change your default browser on an iPhone:

1. Download your new preferred browser from the App Store

2. Go to Settings > Safari > Default Browser App 

3. Select your new browser of choice

That’s it. It’s that easy. 

SEE ALSO: All the privacy apps you should have downloaded in 2020

If for some reason you don’t like the change, it just takes seconds to switch back.