Always choose to open links in external browser rather than in app, right?

Questions
1

Is it true that for privacy, it’s always better to open links in external privacy-respecting browsers instead of in app?

A quick confirmation is appreciated!

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It depends on the scenario.

For example, if I open a link someone sent me on Signal, I will just simply move open it in an ephemeral browser. I almost certainly always want that link to be opened in a ephemeral browser not to be mixed with my other accounts.

This case is for Android.
When you click on a “Get on the Google Play Store” button on a site, it will open Aurora Store for me. It is just more convenient doing so, than manually opening Aurora and searching the app I want to download.

3 Likes
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I appreciate your response!

For fishy links, I’ll definitely use ephemeral browsers to open it.

But for general social media apps such as Reddit or Facebook, is it generally better to open links in external browser instead of in-app because in-app browsers don’t block things like trackers?

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Yes, definitely open those links in a ephemeral browser.

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virustotal.com allows for a URL to be analyzed. You can post random unknown links there as a preliminary test.

You can do this for as long as you are aware this may violate your privacy as you are letting other people look into this. Do be mindful what you post.

Also check if the URL has unique identifiers that may reveal some information about you. If you dont know what you are doing, it is safer not to post random links there.