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> Of course, there's no setting to save this choice once and for all, so this is done each and every time you try opening a link in the YouTube app.

To be clear, the one in GMail does have a "remember this" setting, and it doesn't work.

Google is incredibly aggressive in promoting Chrome yes, but every time I've seen "Safari" as an option in a Google app it isn't WKWebView, but SFSafariViewController which is for all intents and purposes real Safari — it's essentially an out-of-process Safari tab with its own separate cookies, storage, etc. Apps using it can't snoop on your browsing session and they can't dig around in your cookies, etc from standalone Safari.

It’d be useful to see the difference clearly as a user. Personally I try really hard not to use any in-app browser because I have no clue how trustworthy the developer is (except for Facebook and Google, for which the answer is “absolutely not”).

SFSafariViewController is very distinct. Apps can't really change its UI at all.

> Because Google would be pushing it hard? E.g. when you click a link in the YouTube app, it doesn't open it in Safari, rather it shows you a "helpful" dark-pattern prompt about opening it with: Chrome

Ironically the reason this dark pattern exists is because Apple refused to implement support for user-controlled URI handlers in the first place.

“Safari” has always opened in Safari for me.

They're AB testing. Safari used to open Safari for me, but with a new phone now I too get the menu as described above.

This and the ads is why I use YouTube in Safari now.

It's annoying, as websites always have worse UX than native apps.