The pre-installed default apps on your phone are meant to perform basic functions – like opening an internet connection, making a call or sending a text. On Android, you can change the default apps if you prefer a third-party alternative to Google’s original choices.
It’s not hard to do, and it gives you a mobile experience that’s more tailored to your needs and tastes. If you want to go back to factory settings, that’s easy too, so don’t worry about breaking your phone by changing things.
What is the default app anyway?
Default applications are more often discussed when it comes to Windows and macOS operating systems. For example, double-click a PDF on your desktop and what program will appear? Whatever it is, it’s the default application for PDFs. Other file types, from JPEG to MP3, will have their own default applications associated with them.
[Related: 12 hidden Android features you should be using]
This is important if you want to be as productive as possible at your desk: if you’re working with documents, you want them to open in your word processor of choice. Double-clicking on a file and opening it in the right program is a faster and more intuitive way of doing things than starting the program first and then searching through menus and folders to find the file you need.
It’s the same on Android. You probably don’t work with the same variety of files in the same way, but the principle still applies: whether you’re following a web link from an email or opening an image from a group chat, you want your preferred application to handle the request for you.
This is a feature that Android gives you more control over than iOS: on iPhone, you can change the default web browser and email app, but that’s about it (you must always use FaceTime as the default way to make video calls, for example ). On Android, you can change multiple default apps and even the entire look of your home screens.
How to set default settings on Android
Some default apps (like Chrome for web connections) are configured right out of the box on Android, while others are installed the first time you need them. So if you open a document, you’ll be asked which app you want to use to handle it, and Android remembers that choice for the future.
To change these default apps at any time:
- Open Settings and select applications
- Then look for the default apps option—it’s highlighted Default applications on Pixel phones and Select default apps on Samsung Galaxy phones. This will take you to a list of all the default app associations currently on your phone.
- Tap any of the entries to make changes.
To change the application that processes text messages, for example, select SMS application and then the desired application. The list of options will only include apps that are currently installed on your phone and can handle the file or action in question—so there’s no risk of selecting an incompatible app.
Changing web browsers is something you could do on your Android device, if you have several installed: Tap Browser application and select from the list. Any web links you follow from instant message chats or emails will open in the browser of your choice.
Some of these options come with different settings attached. Select Digital assistant applicationfor example, and you can configure how the assistant app works, as well as choose your favorite (perhaps you want Amazon Alexa to pop up whenever you need help, instead of Google Assistant).
The Home application, by the way, is an app that manages your home screen and pops up whenever you ‘go home’ on your phone. This is useful if you want to switch to a third-party launcher to really change the Android interface—if you’re completely new to the idea of Android home screen launchers, we’ve also written about Android home screen customizations.