Collection
Mac apps that send every link to the right browser and keep your default apps in place
macOS lets you pick 1 default browser and 1 app per file type, which falls apart once you run 2 browsers, a work profile and a few web apps. These 6 apps route each link by your own rules, check where a short link really leads, clean out tracking codes and stop new installs from taking over your files.
6 apps2 free to startMac, iPhone, iPad
What gets an app in: An app gets in when it changes where a link or file opens, or what a link carries, without you fixing it by hand each time.
- 1
OpenInRoutes every link, email address and file through your own rules, down to the browser profile, the source app and the Focus you are in.$11.99 once - 2
HyperduckAdds Send to Mac to the iPhone share sheet and delivers the link through iCloud, even when your Mac is offline at the time.$5 once - 3
Link UnshortenerFollows a short link's redirects without cookies or scripts and shows the final address before anything loads.$7.99 once - 4
UntrackerCleans tracking codes out of every link you copy from the menu bar, using rules for more than 200 sites.$0.99 once - 5
RedirectWebSwaps links for the sites you prefer before Safari loads them, like Apple Maps for Google Maps, and 1 rule is free forever.Free to start - 6
FileTypeGuardWatches your default apps and puts them back within seconds when a new install tries to take over your PDFs or videos.Free, open source
The full story: this list comes from 6 Mac Apps That Stop Links From Opening Wherever They Want on The Useful Tech, where each app gets a longer write-up. That story was sponsored by OpenIn. Sponsors never pay for a place on this site, so the apps here are in our own order.
