Many app-specific links open in Brave instead

Brave Browser
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1

Description of the issue:

(Note: I’m not confident this is a Brave issue, but see the details below.)

Despite seeing “open by default” for links associated with many apps, such links often open in Brave.

Steps to Reproduce (add as many as necessary):

Click a link in an email message (I use Gmail) which should be opened in a specific app.

Actual Result (gifs and screenshots are welcome!):

Some app links work fine (Substack, for example). Others, not so much.

  • YouTube links always open in Brave. Reddit links open in Brave though I have RedReader installed.
  • I used to be able to get the link to open eventually in RR by tapping the post title or an image followed by tapping the “View Post” button, but now I’m taken to the Google Play Store and promoted to install the official Reddit app.

Expected result:

I expect links associated with specific apps to open in those apps.

Reproduces how often:

100% consistent behavior on a per-app basis

Operating System and Brave Version(See the About Brave page in the main menu):

1.90.125 Chromium: 148.0.7778.179 (Official Build) (64-bit)

Android 16 (up-to-date), Google Pixel 10

Additional Information:

This has been happening for a while (months). I assumed all along that it was some glitch within Android, but I began to think it might be Brave-related when I noticed that in successful opens within an app, the chain of control seemed to briefly pass through Brave, suggesting Brave makes the decision to pass the link along. For example, if I tap a Substack link in Gmail, it is displayed in the Substack app. If I then tap the square button on my phone, the app stack it displays is:

  • Substack
  • Brave
  • Gmail

If I return to Brave instead of Gmail, the tab displayed isn’t associated with the link I just opened though. It’s like Brave gets the link and decides to pass it along to Substack, not display the URL itself.

If it’s a YouTube link, Brave opens it without passing it along to the YouTube app. Reddit shows the extra weirdness described above. (Who knows reddit.com links should be opened by an app which isn’t even installed on my phone???)

Finally, I should point out that I’ve got Chrome and Google’s AI.core apps disabled. It seems unlikely that they would be involved in the process, but one never knows.

2

@smontanaro

ChatGPT info/suggestions follow

What you’re seeing is usually an interaction between:

  • Android App Links / Intents
  • Gmail’s link handling
  • Brave’s handling of external intents
  • Whether Android has verified the app as the default handler

Because of that, Brave often has less direct control than it appears.

A few things you can try:

1. Check Android “Open supported links” settings

For apps like YouTube or RedReader:

  • Android Settings → Apps
  • Select the app
  • Open “Open by default” / “Set as default”
  • Enable:
    • “Open supported links”
    • Supported domains

For RedReader specifically, verify that reddit.com links are associated with it.

2. Check Brave’s external app link setting

In Brave Browser for Android:

  • Settings → Apps / Site settings (varies by version)
  • Ensure external app launching is not disabled

3. Gmail may be forcing browser handling

Gmail sometimes rewrites/tracks links and may open them in an in-app browser flow before handing off to Android.

Testing the same link from:

  • another email client
  • a notes app
  • Android Messages

can help determine whether Gmail is the culprit.

4. Reddit is a special case

RedReader may no longer receive some Reddit links cleanly because:

  • Reddit increasingly pushes official-app deep links
  • some URLs redirect to Play Store/app install prompts
  • Android verified links may prioritize the official Reddit app if previously installed

This is likely upstream behavior from Reddit rather than purely a Brave issue.

5. YouTube links opening in Brave

For YouTube:

  • Ensure YouTube is allowed to open supported links
  • Clear defaults for Brave temporarily and retest
  • Test with both:
    • youtube.com
    • youtu.be

Sometimes one domain is verified while the other is not.

3

Thanks for the detailed response. I discovered that somewhere along the way all the verified Reddit domains somehow got “unverified.” I re-confirmed them. II made no changes to my YouTube settings, but did confirm that both youtube.com and youtu.be were in the list of six verified links.

I mailed myself a couple links and confirmed that Reddit links once again open in RedReader. Clicking the YouTube link (which was a youtu.be link) I sent opened it in the app. The youtube.com version of that link also opened in the app. I have no idea what changed there.

Even if things go sideways again in the future (or other apps fail to open the links they should), I now have a handy checklist to help diagnose the problem.