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Comment by pxeger1 | Hacker News Reader

Relatedly, all Google apps (e.g. Maps) on iOS try very hard to push Chrome on you (even though iOS Chrome still has to use WebKit). When you click an external link, they present you the options of Chrome, Google (the search app), or Safari. This happens even if you don't have Chrome/Google installed, so they take you to the App Store instead of opening the webpage. If you choose Safari, it still doesn't open Safari, it opens a web view inside Google Maps, from where you have to press yet another button to get it to open as a actual Safari tab. The menu has a "remember my choice for next time" switch, but it seems to reset every few times so it constantly re-nags you.

If the link goes to something that should open in another app (e.g. goes to instagram.com when I have the Instagram app installed), unless I satisfy its demands to install Chrome, it takes like 3 extra clicks to open in that other app.

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In the same way, Apple is equally difficult about forcing the use of Apple Maps.

If you receive an address in an iMessage, clicking/long-holding will always open in Apple Maps. There is no way to share to Google Maps (it doesn't appear in the list), and the default setting to use Google Maps doesn't affect iMessage.

You have to copy the address, switch to Google Maps, paste it in, and search. I would much prefer clicking the address to open in the app of my choice.

The sharing is because Google doesn’t register a share provider.

I can share just fine from messages to other apps like Tesla or other mapping software like ABRP. I don’t see a Google Maps share provider anywhere on my device though

That's not what I observe, it opens in the "default app" for "navigation". I've just tried this on my iPhone, running iOS 18.5.

If I click on an address received via iMessage, it will open the "default app for navigation". If I long press it, the context menu will say "get directions" which opens the "default app", open in "google maps" if it's set as the default app. There's no option to open it in Apple Maps. If the "default app for navigation" is Apple Maps, everything I said above changes to Apple Maps.

If I click "share", Google Maps doesn't show up in the list, but neither does Apple Maps.

> default app" for "navigation". > iOS 18.5.

Where is that setting?

Settings | Apps | Default Apps has no option for Navigation (iPhone SE 18.5, in New Zealand). Maybe EU thing?

https://support.apple.com/en-us/121430

* Navigation (in some countries and regions1) –– choose another app instead of the Apple Maps app to use when opening links for a location

I don't have this option in the US.

Possibly an EU thing then, I’m in France.

However, when I use Google Maps, I do have the behavior described elsewhere in this thread: it constantly bugs me to open the links in chrome (which I’ve never had installed) even though I always click “use default browser”. Googling something in safari also regularly prompts me to install chrome.

I don’t want it to open google maps or ask me to open google maps. Stop trying to make things worse for everyone.

Google maps and google.com shouldn’t prompt either. No prompts.

Look, it's Apple, Google and Microsoft being at their peak of customer hostility. Each of them constantly push their own browser in their own products.

As a user I don’t get why Apple allows this user hostile behavior in an app they distribute in their app store.The platform has alternatives. iOS has a sharing sheet. iOS has a default browser setting (in EU).

Google Chrome and Search offer in-app purchases from which Apple receives a share.

You have to download Google Maps in the first place- my (older teen and adult) kids don’t even have an entry point for Google, they just use Apple’s built in apps + ChatGPT.

Even Google Search relentlessly nags you to download the Google Search app.

Is it useful anymore? I switched to DDG a few years ago and then OpenAI search. Even when I was on DDG exclusively I didn’t miss Google search at all. And occasionally when I use Google search I get terrible results filled with garbage ads and the likes.

DDG is just Bing

Hmm, mine doesn't seem to do this.

Same with Reddit. They have their own share sheet, and then 'other' which goes to the iOS built-in one.

I wish Apple was more strict on this. There is no reason for them to have their own. Same with the photo viewer.

I love the iOS photo viewer, it allows me to select text directly to copy it etc, but Reddit needs to use their own.

On the other hand, it should be possible for me to set up a default photo viewer.

My guess is that the custom share sheet lets reddit see what services users are sharing to

…which is exactly what Apple should prevent apps from seeing. It’s none of Reddits business where I share links to.

It also gives them a hook apply a watermark to the shared image.

that can be inserted before presenting the iOS share sheet

Yes, Apple should start rejecting apps with bad UX. However Apple defines bad is good for me /s

Also extremely annoying that they implement their own share menu that you have to do an extra tap on to get to the native share menu. Amazon does this as well.

I assume it's so they can track what option you choose.

Reddit does this, too. It is used to measure sharing something as some sort of analytic/goal on your account for engagement. I tend to just screenshot them now after the annoying middle menu started popping up for me.

I really am not a fan of apps wanting me to engage more with the app when I'm trying to engage with real-life people.

Reddit also has that annoying pop-up when you screenshot something. “Sending this post to someone? It looks better when you share it.”

Perhaps they mean it looks better for Reddit’s smarmy user engagement metrics.

There's an option in settings where you can disable the Reddit frame the put around shared images

They wanted to hire me at one point for their iOS app. I declined; I didn't want any part of that. What a mess.

I hate this industry so much.

I despise that phantom Share menu!

I don't experience this extra Share menu in Google Maps. The share button at a location directly brings up the iOS native share sheet.

I don't use Google Maps, YouTube is what I was thinking of.

Ah okay. I never watch enough YouTube to download its app.

I admire your skill in bringing up, and distracting everyone with Google in a post about Apple's shenanigans. No love lost for Google, but wasnt expecting to read about Google as a top comment on Apple thread.

Especially because the thing he's complaining about doesn't happen on Android. Why? Probably because Android supported setting a default browser app from the beginning, while iOS forced all links to open in Safari by default.

I’m not sure the default browser setting is nearly as relevant here as how Chrome is conveniently the default browser on the overwhelming majority of Android devices, and it’s rare for users to change that.

If Android shipped with Firefox or Vivaldi or something as its default browser, I’d bet anything that Google’s Android apps would do the exact same Chrome-pushing as their iOS apps.

Chrome wasn't even available until Android 4.0 (as a beta), and it wasn't included by default on most phones until later. On most Samsung devices, the default browser has been Samsung Internet for years. Starting March 2024, there is no default browser in the EEA. https://www.android.com/choicescreen/dma/browser/

Despite all of that, there are no such shenanigans on Android. The reason is almost certainly that Google had to implement such a workaround due to Apple's refusal to allow users to set default apps, and that workaround stuck.

Even so, Chrome is still by far the dominant browser on Android, sitting at about 70%[0] between iOS and Android and higher on Android alone. There’s little benefit to be had from Google harassing Android users about browsers, and in fact it could bring users to think worse of Android, so they don’t.

[0]: https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share/mobile/world...

Several comments point out this doesn't happen on Android.

I'm using Android, with my default browser set to Firefox Focus, and I found:

- Every few months, the default browser gets reset to Chrome. I don't know this has happened until I realise I'm looking at something in Chrome. Then I look at the default browser setting, see it changed to Chrome (without my consent, and as far as I know, no notification), and I change it back to Firefox Focus. This has happened at least twice in the last year.

- For a while, when opening things from Google Search it opened them in Chrome. However I'm unable to replicate that now.

I would suspect your phone maker or a rogue app is changing it on you. That doesn't happen on a Motorola phone with FF.

This might depend on the brand of the smartphone, as I am a regular Firefox user and I never experienced any unwanted change in the default browser of my Huawei P20 and Samsung A52 phones.

I get really annoyed when I open safari type something in the top bar to search the google search happens. then google has a pop up asking me if i want to be using google search app instead. to which the answers are Continue(highlighted in blue) or stay on web (almost grayed out). and if you forget and click on continue it takes you to the fucking app store. then if i go back to the browser and try to go back to the search that it definitely did. it takes me to the app store again. if i go back twice, i end up where i was before doing the search. fuck google and their dark patterns.

Oh my god yes, it's absolutely infuriating. I chastise myself every time I accidentally click Continue, because it means I have to suffer through another Safari→App Store→Safari→App Store loop..

I have never experienced this on iOS. I just tested it in Google maps and despite having Chrome installed it opened in Safari (my default) with no prompting or extra steps, it just immediately opened Safari

Are you in the EU?

I am in the EU and I still get the nag screen sometimes, it's awful.

This just started with me with youtube links last week. Super obnoxious.

I just had this happen to me in Gmail last week. The last time it showed the nag screen was probably a year or so ago when I turned it off, so it seems they flipped it back on to boost some quarterly KPIs.

Google Maps on iOS has a toggle “Ask me every time” that you can turn off, which maybe you did at some point.

I do not experience this at all. I remember having seen the browser choice screen in Google Maps but it consistently remembers my setting and does not nag me each time. My default browser isn't even Safari (it's Quiche Browser) and Google Maps correctly opens Quiche Browser whenever I click on a link.

All Google apps will forget this setting at one point. Usually after an update.

They used to be significantly more aggressive with it, but have dialed it back

If you use DDG browser or FireFox you'll find it dangling even below Safari, in a unattractively colored button "default browser". A slap in the face of course, why do you think I have an alternative default browser?

Well, iOS apps do that all the time from their side, so I don't see any problem there. User suffers because of that, yes. On Android you set a default browser (like Firefox Mobile) and it's used almost always (except some security-sensitive login screens to the Google Services I believe).

I've always hated the in-app web views on iOS. They fucking suck. It's so easy to lose your state accidentally. And it confuses me later when I'm trying to find a tab I had open in the Safari app, and finally realize it was open in a stupid ass web view instead so it's gone.

I notice something similar in GrapheneOS. I have Play Services installed, but have never installed Google Maps.

When I click on a Google Maps link, I get asked by the OS if I want to open it using an app from the store (GMaps). I say no, go to google.com/maps and then get asked if I want to use the app or "Keep using Web". And of course at each stage, it could remember my choice, but it does not.

Bing's mobile UI is highly annoying, covering half the map by default with "recommendations". I still use it rather than Google whenever possible. Though I do use Waze when driving.

Interesting on Android you can easily set default browser and never get bothered about it.

Yeah it's so stupid. I'm this close to ditching them.

The most infuriating of those are when you do a web search from safari and google give you an overlay on the result asking if you want to “continue” and if you do want to “continue” it tries to install the google app and breaks any way of getting back to your search. Because continue doesn’t mean “continue what you are doing”

I can’t believe that their search deal with apple allows that.

I get that all the time. It's such an overtly dark pattern. Sad and disgusting.

Unrelatedly, I would say.

As someone who despises Apple's anti-competitive behavior, I would be okay with them removing apps for this kind of abuse.

Setting a default browser means when I open a link it should always use that browser without prompting.

Facebook/Messenger are another case of not respecting default browser, and always open with their own in-app browser.

Gosh, thanks for laying that out more clearly for me. I'll try giving Apple Maps another go.

> This happens even if you don't have Chrome/Google installed, so they take you to the App Store instead of opening the webpage.

Curious which Android flavour this is on. I'm running stock Android & I've found:

1. Chrome app can be set to "Disabled", but cannot be entirely uninstalled

2. When modifying any system settings that involve choosing defaults from a list of apps that could include Chrome, Chrome still appears (despite being "Disabled") & if chosen for that action opens up Chrome surprisingly fast & is magically suddenly no longer "Disabled".

On the contrary, I have not had the issue you describe with Google apps (I mainly use Gmail & Maps & both always open Firefox for me with no reversions). I also have an iPhone (for work) & Apple's complete disregard for browser defaults for links opened from most apps (including 3rd-party) drives me insane. Slack opens in Firefox but most other apps give me a popup with only Safari & (ironically) Chrome as options - clicking Chrome brings me to the App Store.

>>Relatedly, all Google apps (e.g. Maps) on iOS

>Curious which Android flavour this is on

emphasis mine

ah! I must've been tired...

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