National News

Chrome’s Browser on an iPhone

Q. My iPhone opens up in Safari. Is there a way to change the default browser to Chrome?

Posted Updated

By
J.D. Biersdorfer
, New York Times
Q. My iPhone opens up in Safari. Is there a way to change the default browser to Chrome?

A. The current version of the iOS software uses Apple’s Safari browser and does not allow you to select different browser apps to automatically open links. As Google’s own support pages for the iOS version of Chrome note, “You can’t make Chrome your default browser, but you can add it to your dock.” Adding the app to the dock — that strip of icons along the bottom of the screen — will not make Chrome jump up to open links you may get in a text or an email message, but it does keep the icon within thumb range when you’d like to start browsing.

To put Chrome in the iPhone’s dock, you may need to make room for it by moving another app’s icon first. In the dock, just press and hold your finger on the app you want to move until it begins to wiggle, then drag it up to a different part of the home screen. While the apps are still wiggling, drag the Chrome icon into the dock. Press the Home button to calm the icons.

It is not impossible to change your iPhone’s default apps or tinker around with other settings, even though Apple’s official version of iOS prohibits such actions. However, to do that, you need to “jailbreak” your device and install unauthorized software on it. Apple deeply frowns on this activity and will not generally provide technical support for a jailbroken phone running someone else’s software.

Android users do have the option to choose a new default browser. To do so, open the Settings app, select Apps & Notifications and tap Advanced at the bottom of the screen. Select Default Apps, tap Browser app and pick the installed browser program you wish to use.

— Adding Photographs to Android Contacts

Q. How do I add an Android contact photo for someone who doesn’t already have one so I can see something besides initials in a circle?

A. Start by opening the Contacts app on your Android device and selecting the contact you’d like to dress up with a photo. Tap the pencil-shaped Edit icon in the lower-right corner; if you have multiple accounts on the device, you may be asked to pick one here.

On the Edit screen for the person’s card, you can edit the name, the address, the phone number and other information by selecting the corresponding text field. To add a photo, tap the camera icon in the center of the circle at the top of the card. In the box that appears, you get the option to take a new picture right there or to choose a photo from the albums on your Android device.

Once you select a photo, you can resize and crop the image to your liking. Once you have finished editing the card, tap the Save button in the upper-right corner.

If you are using your Google Account’s default sync settings, the edited contact card updates itself across all the devices connected to the same account, including the Google Contacts app for desktop web browsers. Likewise, if you have more photos of people on your computer, you can add those pictures to your contacts by following the same editing steps through the Google Contacts app in the web browser and then syncing them to the Android device.

The process is similar for those with Apple devices wishing to add pictures to iOS, macOS and iCloud Contacts. When you have edited the contacts, added a photo and saved the card, the updated version should be available on all the devices using the same iCloud account.

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