Third-Party Default Email and Browser Apps in iOS 14 Reset After App Updates

With iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, Apple allowed users to select third-party apps as the default email app and browser. Last month, a widespread bug reverted these settings to Apple's default apps whenever a user's device was rebooted.

Although that bug was fixed, a new bug in ‌iOS 14‌ and ‌iPadOS 14‌ is now afflicting the selection of third-party email apps and browsers. It appears that whenever a selected third-party app is updated, the default app selection for email app or browser is reset to Apple's Mail or Safari.

The Verge has now confirmed that whenever you update your chosen default app via the App Store in iOS 14.1, it gets removed from the default app slot.

Users should be aware that they will need to re-select their preferences every time a third-party mail app or browser that has been set as default is updated. You may wish to avoid updating your preferred third-party browser or mail app until it is convenient to reselect the default in settings, or until Apple has released a fix.

However, MacRumors understands that the bug may have already been fixed in the iOS 14.2 and iPadOS 14.2 betas.

The likes of Chrome, Edge, DuckDuckGo, and Firefox can be set as default browsers, while Gmail, Spark, and Microsoft Outlook can be set as default Mail apps, among others. Users who prefer an alternative to Safari or Apple's native Mail app can choose an alternative and it should be opened automatically whenever the system requires it, providing the app has not recently been updated, that is.