How to Clear the Default App Selection in Android

We are using so many applications on our Android devices for each and every activity. In some case, we have multiple application which can perform same activity. For eg. some people may install more than 1 gallery application to view photos and videos. In this case while we open an image or video, it will show you an additional popup which asking your choice, which gallery application to be used to open that photo/video.

In this case, while showing the popup with the multiple application option, there is 2 options shown, first says ‘Just Once’ and the second ‘Always’. if you choose ‘Just Once’ then your choice of selection will be for the current action only, and if you select photo/video for the next time, it will show the same popup again. And id you choose ‘Always’ option, it will be saved as the default option and each time when you try to open and image/video, it will automatically select the previously chosen application.

(Also see: Best Free Alternative Gallery App For QuickPic)

This can cause you some issue for you sometime. Like, if you wish to open the image/video in some other application, you cannot do it straight from the window. This issue generally comes in the case of hyperlink, for eg: if you have BBC News application installed on your phone, you can read all the news in the application without any issue, in the case where you receive a hyperlink of bbc.com etc, while opening that, it will ask you to to open the link in BBC Application or by your Browser.

If you select the BBC Application and select it with ‘Always’ option, in the later time, if you wish to open the same using the browser, you cannot do it, since it is set as default. Here we mentioned it with the BBC Application, but this may happen with different application line, Google Photos, anything, in which you choose to open with Always option.

Now, i will tell you how to clear the default selection option for that application, so that the Popup window will again appear with multiple option to choose.

Step 1: Goto the settings option on your device

Step 2: Goto the Application Settings/List

(Also see: Why the WhatsApp Status of My Friend is not Visible to Me ?)

Step 3: Select the application, which you need to clear the default selection. In our example, we choose ‘BBC News’ app.

Step 4: In the next window, you may find ‘Clear Defaults’ button. In some devices, it will be available under ‘Open by default’ option.

Step 5: Click on the ‘Clear Defaults’ button.

Step 6: Done, you have now cleared the default selection for that application. Now, while opening the bbc.com link, it will show again the multiple options such as browser, bbc app etc.

It is same for all the application, if you wish to clear the default selection for any application, if there, you can do it like the same.

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