Chrome for Android Really Wants You to Make It Your Default Browser with a New Menu Option

Google is pushing Chrome to become the default browser across desktop and Android, but the approach differs between the two. While Chrome Beta is testing a large startup prompt on Windows that asks users to make it their default browser, Chrome for Android now puts a “Make Chrome default” option directly in its three-dot menu.

We first noticed the option in Chrome Stable on a Redmi Note 15 Pro after setting Firefox Nightly as the default browser. Tapping “Make Chrome default” opens Android’s default-browser selection screen. The system lists the browsers installed on the phone and lets users choose which one should handle browser links.

In our test, the list included Chrome, Chrome Beta, Chrome Canary, Chrome Dev, Edge, Bing and Firefox Nightly. Firefox Nightly had the “Current default” label because it was set as the default browser. We saw the same “Make Chrome default” option in Chrome Beta, Dev and Canary on the Redmi Note 15 Pro.

There is one detail worth noting. If you close the default-browser selector without selecting Chrome, tapping the menu option again takes you to the default-browser settings page instead. Once Chrome becomes the default browser, the menu option disappears.

Windows Report spotted commits showing that Google has worked on this entry point for several months. Earlier changes added the menu item, connected it to Android’s Role Manager and added metrics to track interactions. The latest change enables the entry point by default.

That helps explain why the option is visible across Chrome’s Android channels rather than appearing only in Canary when specific flags are enabled.

Chrome checks whether it holds Android’s default-browser role. If it does not, the browser adds the option to its main menu.

This may be especially useful on Android phones where a browser other than Chrome is set as the default. Some manufacturers ship their own browsers alongside Chrome, while users can also choose another browser during setup or change the default later.

We also saw the same behavior on a Realme phone after setting its built-in Internet browser as the default. Chrome then displayed the “Make Chrome default” option in its main menu, and tapping it opened Android’s default-browser picker.

So, if you use Firefox, Edge or another browser as your default on Android, Chrome may now place a reminder at the bottom of its three-dot menu. The entry gives Chrome a direct way to encourage users to switch their default browser to Chrome without making them open Chrome’s Settings page first.