Mobile browser developer Brave is already seeing the benefits of new tools that give iOS users a choice of default browser in the EU after seeing a surge in downloads following the changes.
Now that the EU’s Digital Markets Act has come into force, Apple has introduced a new browser selection screen in iOS 17.4. After downloading the update, every iOS user in the EU is presented with a new screen that requires them to select their default browser, which controls which app opens when you click on a website link. It is one of several changes the EU is imposing on “gatekeepers” in the bloc, which it believes will open up more options for users when it comes to using mobile browsers, search engines, operating systems and app markets.
This week, Brave Software praised the changes. Post shared on the company’s social media reads: “Why have Apple and Google made it so hard to change default browsers for so many years? Because it’s a powerful way to block competitors.”
Users are experimenting with Brave
Why have Apple and Google made it so difficult to change default browsers for so many years? Because it’s a powerful way to block competitors. Just look at what happened to Brave iPhone installations in the EU when Apple introduced a new default browser selection screen on March 6th: pic.twitter.com/Wefz4mCHGiMarch 12, 2024
Data released by Brave shows a clear increase in downloads of its browser following the introduction of the default browser screen on March 6. From January 15 to March 5, Brave recorded between 7,000 and 8,000 daily downloads in the EU. Between March 6 and March 9, that number rose to 11,000. As a browser, Brave claims to be a “faster”, “private” browser with fewer ads. It also comes with built-in AI assistant, firewall and VPN.
“As you can see, when consumers are given a clear choice of iOS browser, they choose alternatives to Safari,” Brave continued, before quickly joking with Google: “Maybe that’s why Google still hasn’t implemented a browser selection screen on Android … It’s time to give users an easy choice of browser, Google.”
Brave didn’t share any data three days after the move, so it’s unclear whether daily downloads have continued to grow, leveled off or fallen since then. As Brave notes, Apple shows a random list of the 11 most popular browsers in that EU country, along with Safari.
It is interesting to note that at least some users seem to be choosing to try the new default browsers despite the relatively limited information available when choosing. All users see is the developer’s name, title, and any browser’s app icon. As we noted last week, figures released before the changes revealed that 49% of mobile users surveyed had never changed their default browser, and that 20% didn’t know there was an option to do so. Almost all of the best iPhone apps you can download come from third parties, not Apple, and the EU intends to make sure they’re easier to find in the future.