Google. The American company announced a very important change for the Android operating system in Europe last night, one that has been expected for some time by many people. Last week we learned that Google is going to offer Android phone users the opportunity to choose which will be the default browser for surfing the Internet, something that the European Commission is forcing it to do, after imposing a substantial fine on it.
Google. It seems that this option to choose the default browser for Android is going to be offered through Google Play, the application for the online store being the one through which users will decide what will happen when they surf the Internet. Google announced last week that it will offer Android the possibility to choose the default browser, but only after analyzing the source code of the Google Play application was it actually discovered what will happen.
Google. Very IMPORTANT change for Android in Europe
Google. When Android users in Europe access the Google Play application, they will see an alert message telling them that Google Chrome is not the only browser for browsing the Internet. It is not yet known which will be the browsers promoted by Google for Android users through Google Play, but it seems that it will be about Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Bing and DuckDuck Go, which may also be listed.
Google Play will be responsible for prompting users about "additional web browsers" and "additional search services" for devices. This Play Store collection will presumably show Google Chrome alongside Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Opera, while DuckDuck Go and Bing will likely also be included with Google Search.
Google. In Russia, there is an obligation to list alternatives for Google Chrome since 2017, so the European Commission came much later with the obligation to offer more options for customers. Separately from the listing of alternative applications for Google Chrome, Android will also offer users the possibility to set those browsers as predefined to open any kind of links from applications, as Google's browser does now.
Google. Of course, people can still do whatever they want, and this change for Android has very little chance of producing real changes for the use of the browser, but the European Commission must still show that it exists.
