One of the options that we find in the Facebook application is the one that allows us to open the links with one of the available third-party browsers and thus not have to use the one integrated in Facebook, an option that some users watch it disappear in the latest version of the Android app.
With this option active, we can choose any browser installed, in the case of Chrome, Brave, Edge in one of its four versions … The problem is that between the different switches, this option is disappearing and for the moment we do not know which is the reason for the change.
Rely on the integrated browser
So far, the Facebook app for Android allows us to open links in third-party browsers. It is a possibility that is accessible if we access “Settings and privacy” by clicking on the three horizontal lines then on “Setting” Yes “Multimedia content and contacts”, where one of the options was support for third-party browsers.
Now users are telling on social media and in Reddit threads how this option disappeared on Twitter so that clicking on a Facebook link opens your own browser demand. Complaints that contrast with the information offered on the Facebook support page, which specifies that the option is still active.
An example of these changes is given by the user @ ashk4n in his Twitter account, where the before and after appear after updating the app to the latest version.
Twittersphere: everyone knows how long @Facebook the application removed the ability to open links in an external browser?
Previously, I had configured my phone to use my native browser (Brave on Android / Safari on iOS) rather than @Facebookof the browser integrated into the application, but the option is no longer available. pic.twitter.com/wyv98H69hv
– ashkan soltani (@ ashk4n) June 23, 2021
It’s the same as the screenshot of this Reddit user, where the option doesn’t appear. What is striking is that in this case, the possibility of using third-party browsers disappeared a month ago.
At the moment, it is not known what is the reason that led some users to see this option disappear. Considering when this happens, some voices are reporting it to FLoC and the gradual elimination of third-party cookies by Google for web browsing tracking, but this is unconfirmed.
In the tests we carried out with colleagues the change has not yet materialized, using the beta version of the Facebook app on a Galaxy Note 20 Ultra with Android 11 and the stable version on a Huawei P30 Lite with Android 10
Via | XDA Developers
