Bug on Android: "Open in browser" always replaces the same tab

Browser Support Mobile Support
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Description of the issue: In Brave for Android, when you select URL text in a webpage, then tap on “Open in browser” on the usual Android context-menu popup, it opens a new tab with that URL.
If this action is repeated from the same webpage, the new URL is opened in the same “new” tab that the previous URL was opened in, replacing it.
Even opening new tabs doesn’t work around it, as it seems there is some invisible “flag” that sets that one particular tab to be the target for URLs opened through the “Open in browser” context-menu button.

How can this issue be reproduced?

  1. Visit a webpage that contains, in text form, at least two URLs.
  2. Select one of the URLs, then tap “Open in browser” on the context-menu popup.
  3. Optionally browse the web, open new tabs.
  4. Select another URL in the webpage, tap “Open in browser”.
  5. This latest opened URL will have replaced the previous/first URL that was opened through the “Open in browser” Android function, in that same tab.

Expected result: A new tab is opened for every “Open in browser” press on any URL, even if the URL is the same.

Brave Version( check About Brave): 1.80.124 Chromium 138.0.7204.168

Mobile Device details: Samsung M32, Android 13, OneUI 5.1, “Build/TP1A.220624.014”

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@Conclude7674 Can you share a screenshot of what the context menu looks like on your device? On my end, when I long-press on a link I see:

image
image1080×983 92 KB

When I tap Open it opens in Brave in a new tab as expected. If I repeat this on that same page, another new tab opens as exepcted – the previously opened tab is not replaced.

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That is exactly how the popup looks like, just in a different Android language.

I will post screenshots of me reproducing the bug.

  1. Page with many URLs as text, select one and open with browser through popup.

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  1. A new tab opens (notice the number of tabs).

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  1. Select another URL and open through popup.

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  1. The 5th tab is now replaced with the new URL.

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Limit of uploads reached :expressionless:

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  1. Rinse and repeat.

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20250816_51080×2330 234 KB

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  1. Final tabs.

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20250816_71080×1666 222 KB

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In case I needed to ping @Mattches

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@Conclude7674 I’m wondering if this may be specific to your own device or something because that is not the behavior I see at all. I’ve asked a couple other team mates to test and see if they can repro the behavior. You’re using the latest version of the browser at this time?

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@Mattches

Latest version at my disposal:
Brave 1.82.166, Chromium 140.0.7339.133
Android 13; Build/TP1A.220624.014

The behavior is still observable on my device. Brave is the default browser; I can’t think of any other setting that could be relevant to the issue.

If you have things for me to try, I’d be glad to report back.

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And you’ve confirmed that this behavior does not occur in other [chromium-based] browsers? If not would you mind testing?

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@Mattches I confirm that the behavior is replicated using Google Chrome, when set as the default browser. Only one new tab is opened, and is then always used as a target for “Open in browser”.

Do you think this may be dependent on the Android version or on Samsung OneUI?

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If it’s happening in Chrome then it’s like a Chromium issue that could be specific to your device. Let me see if any of our Android folks can reproduce this.

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