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Additionally, you can run a full system scan to optimize and maintain your macOS. CleanMyMac X automates the cleanup: it lets you clear all browsing data at the touch of a button. Even if Safari is your default browser, you can open any link in another browser, by holding down the Control key when you click on it and selecting Copy Link, then paste it in the address bar of any browser you like.Ĭlearing cache and cookies can remove outdated information and fix possible bugs on websites. So, if you just need to access specific sites in Chrome or Firefox, you don’t need to change your default browser. It doesn’t mean, of course, that you can’t use other browsers to surf the net. In fact, any task that opens a URL will be performed in that web browser. If you use Spotlight and click on a result from the web, it will open in your default browser. Put simply, it’s the web browser that opens a link when you click on it in an email or other document.

What is a default web browser?īefore we get to how to change your default web browser, it’s worth considering what a default web browser is and does. So, here's how to open a different browser on Mac and set it default. Or it might be that there are extensions you need that are only available in Chrome, or perhaps a website you use regularly doesn’t work properly in Safari. While Safari is pretty speedy, for some users in some circumstances it’s slower than Chrome or Firefox. However, there are perfectly good reasons why you might want to use a different browser. Given Apple’s recent focus on privacy, it’s not unlikely that Safari will soon be the best option all around for Mac users who want to surf the net securely. Safari is a perfectly good web browser and offers most of the features of its competitor web browsers, including autofill for forms and credit card details, secure password storage, and the ability to request that websites do not track you.

Before that, for a while, it was Internet Explorer - but the less said about that the better, and before that, it was Netscape Navigator. Safari is the default browser in macOS and has been ever since Apple first built its own web browser. With it, you can tidy up past browser activity and manage privacy settings.įeatures described in this article refer to the MacPaw site version of CleanMyMac X. Download its free version to find hidden apps and outdated system junk on your drive. You can do it with our new tool, CleanMyMac X.

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