Comments on: On Browser-Specific URL Schemes

By: Michael Michlin

Michael Michlin — Thu, 28 Oct 2021 21:11:53 +0000

Custom browser schemes mechanism is the basis for application interoperability and is not limited to browsers – it works fine for native apps. I think OSes and browsers should respect it. If it is abused by a Web application, it’s the developer’s fault, not the OS’s and not the browser’s.

By: Elliott Rodgers

Elliott Rodgers — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 12:25:12 +0000

I wonder if this is why on my Samsung S9 sometimes apps etc open the Samsung Internet Browser and not Google Chrome (default browser)?

By: Chris LaChance

Chris LaChance — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 02:55:37 +0000

This just seems like a dark pattern that has sprung from the well intentioned deep-links (universal links). Non-browser apps use these as well; it’s how self-hosted Sketch libraries work for example.

By: Glenn

Glenn — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 00:57:38 +0000

Personally if I was making the call on whether to allow a browser to open links in another browser I’d just ignore it and interpret the link prefix as https instead.

By: Ashley Sheridan

Ashley Sheridan — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 00:22:35 +0000

The crazy thing is why this is left up to the individual browsers to support. It should pass this behavior off to the OS to handle. Now we have a mess of different looking and behaving implementations, and that’s just for the browsers that support it.

By: Person

Person — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 00:12:49 +0000

The problem with the microsoft-edge: scheme in particular is that Microsoft has put it everywhere in Windows 10 and 11. Tons of links force users to use Edge instead of the system default web browser. Start menu searches open Edge, links sent from your phone open in Edge, links in many first-party apps force you into edge, and help links all throughout the OS force you into Edge.

By: Lee James

Lee James — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 23:29:02 +0000

...there should be no reason any given URL has to open in any specific browser.

I see where this is going - The return of "This web page was designed for Your Browser Here" is just around the corner! Or, at least, the same mindset.

By: Christopher Holland

Christopher Holland — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 20:51:42 +0000

The web is the web, there should be no reason any given URL has to open in any specific browser.

Except that this is only a single type of use of URL schemes. They are also used to create links to non-browser apps, and that is definitely better for the end-user. But browsers could certainly not respect the other browser-only schemes.