Stop the automatic opening of new "windows"

[Browniepoint]

Never claimed you are a brave employee though…

Just saying the post had a lot of views but 0 reaction. Then when im commenting on the community and leaving to a different browser suddenly reactions started to appear.

[Michael-Alexander]

Ok @Browniepoint , i fully understood your point here, but i am unable to reproduce your issue.
I use Android 7,9 and some tests on 11.

I have 1 android app, that i have build it myself with some external links to a certain webpage, so to test how does open the browser.

I used the standard intent that ggoole offers for viewing a page in external source.
Example

intent.setData(Uri.parse("https://community.brave.app"));
// Always use string resources for UI text. This says something like "Share this link with"
String title = getString(R.string.chooser_title);
// Create and start the chooser
Intent chooser = Intent.createChooser(intent, title);
startActivity(chooser);

or

Intent intent = new Intent(Intent.ACTION_VIEW);
intent.setData(Uri.parse("http://community.brave.com"));
startActivity(intent); 

Tried myself some workaround, keeping only brave as browser, having more browsers.

Can you name of the app that is able to reproduce this issue?
Maybe the devs found a way to do that inside their code.

[Browniepoint]

Yes i do, I actually just tried it a few min ago and it happened again.

The app is called NOS https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nl.nos.app&hl=en_US

open an article → on the top right side within the article youll see the share icon which will open the android share screen with all sorts of apps (whatsapp, email, brave etc.) → select brave → now the issue arrises where it opens a new window with a new tab with that article.

It’s funny that when there is only 1 window, there is no option in the brave menu to manage the windows but when there is a new window opened there suddenly is an option “manage windows” with the number of open windows behind it.

[Michael-Alexander]

I have just tried with 6 articles, none opened a new window.
Tried Brave closed before, existing tabs.

[Browniepoint]

But are you actually on mobile android ? This screenshot looks like a desktop version ?

[Michael-Alexander]

Android mobile(Desktop site - Enabled).
But i assure you, i tried in both ways(Disabled ,Enabled).1

[Saoiray]

@Browniepoint

So there definetly are windows on mobile android.

Guess I have some catching up to do. I was looking at Galaxy S9 that has Android 10 and wasn’t able. Then I tried to do some quick searches to see if any changes and results I had seen shown none, except talking about when people did split screen. I haven’t seen screens like shared by theguyotc, even on my mom’s newer phone when I’ve helped her with issues.

Let me ask, which Android OS are you using? Also, which device are you using?

@Mattches would you have any ideas on what’s going on here and if there’s anything in settings on OS or Brave that can prevent the opening of new windows?

[Browniepoint]

Pixel 6 Pro with grapheneOS.

Also its not that it prevents openening new windows, its actually automatically opening a new window when sharing a link from NOS app, which i mentioned above, in brave.

When doing that, the share does not open a new tab in the current default window but opens up a new window with a new tab with that shared link.

As mentioned above. The screenshot you see i only see when a new window is opened by the above. In there Brave menu i actually see a new option with manage windows. clicking it shows me the same page as the screenshot. But when i close all other windows and only keep the current “default” window, the option disappears in the Brave menu

[Mattches]

@Browniepoint,
Catching up here — looks like I see the exact behavior you’re describing, but it does appear to be specific to this NOS app. Or at least, I don’t have any other apps that show this behavior other than the NOS app that I just downloaded. Tested with Twitter app, Textra, YouTube, Google News and Discord.

1. From within the NOS app, if I click the Android share menu, then tap Brave , the article will open in a new Window in a tab by itself, as you’ve been describing it. This happens every time I use the share menu.
2. On the NOS app, if I click a link within the article (that is, one that is intended to open in a browser), this will open in the same Window as the rest of my tabs in the browser.

So I’m inclined to think this is related to the interaction between the Android Share option and browser opening. I do not know of any specific settings currently that show different behavior here.

Whether or not you’ve already switched browsers, I think this is a useful report to hear and I will be informing the Android team about the behavior.

Thank you

[iagree]

Just want to keep this alive and say that @Browniepoint is not alone.

I get the exact same behaviour on a Pixel 7.

This has been bugging me for months but now it’s reaching a breaking point.

I do not use the NOS app, so it’s not specifically related to it. I do think that it is related to the Share functionality.

It is also not a new issue. Here’s a Reddit post from about a year ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/brave_browser/comments/solazc/brave_android_mobile_browser_opening_multiple/?sort=confidence

That being said, even though opening a new window is annoying, it is manageable. The part that really drives me insane is that when you try to switch windows then all the controls are gone and you can’t switch tabs or access any of the menus. I’ll post another message with some screenshots to show what I mean

[iagree]

1- Regular tab. You can see the Home, Favourites, Search, Tabs and three dots menu at the bottom

2- Manage Window menu

3- When clicking on a window it opens it in shared screen mode

4- When you expand that window you want to switch to, all the buttons at the bottom are gone, so you can’t switch tabs or switch window or do anything other than force close the app

So not only does it randomly opens windows. It then breaks apart when trying to use them. I’d love to just be able to disable the Windows functionality all together and just stick to tabs. Would solve all my issues

[theguyotc]

The problem seems to be resolved for me. Lately when using Android share to Brave it just opens a new tab. Haven’t opened a window in a while. They close properly with the back gesture as well.

Hope I’m not the only one, because it’s made using Brave a lot better.

[powerpin9]

I had the same issue as OP has desribed - and at some point recently, around a month ago, either after oneUI update 5.0–5.1 (Samsung Galaxy A51) or after an update to Brave itself, the issue just disappeared. All new links - via Android share feature - are now being opened in a new tab and not in a new window.
shrug-emoji

[Philwuese]

Hey! Have you tried disabling the “Tabs and Open Links” setting in the app’s settings? This should prevent links from opening in new windows. If that doesn’t work, try using a different browser that suits your needs better. I hope that helps!