How To Make Google Your Browser On Mac
- Make Chrome Default Browser Mac
- How To Make Google Your Browser On A Mac
- Make Google Chrome Default Browser
- Make Safari Default Browser Mac
The selected browser is now the default web browser on your Mac. How to change a default browser in Mac OS X: Mac OS X (previous version of 10.10) Those who are using the older version of Mac OS X (Mavericks or earlier), can make changes from the Safari browser itself. Installing new software on your Mac can be a confusing process when it comes to programs unavailable in the App Store, like Google Chrome.While the pre-installed Safari is perfectly adequate, some users prefer using Chrome as their web browser. Click the button “Make Google my default search engine“. Select the checkbox “Make this my default provider”. Click Add to confirm. Restart Internet Explorer for the changes to take effect. (Mac) Open the Safari browser. Click on Safari in the top left corner and select Preferences from the.
Safari is the default browser in macOS and has been ever since Apple first built its own web browser. Before that, for a while, it was Internet Explorer — but the less said about that the better, and before that, it was Netscape Navigator. Remember that?
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. 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.
However, there are perfectly good reasons why you might want to use a different browser. Performance is one of them. While Safari is pretty speedy, for some users in some circumstances it’s slower than Chrome or Firefox. 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. So, here's how to open a different browser on Mac and set it default.
What is a default web browser?
Before we get to how to change your default web browser, it’s worth considering what a default web browser is and does. Put simply, it’s the web browser that opens a link when you click on it in an email or other document. If you use Spotlight and click on a result from the web, it will open in your default browser. In fact, any task that opens a URL will be performed in that web browser. It doesn’t mean, of course, that you can’t use other browsers to surf the net.
Make Chrome Default Browser Mac
So, if you just need to access specific sites in Chrome or Firefox, you don’t need to change your default browser. 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.
Clearing cache and cookies can remove outdated information and fix possible bugs on websites. CleanMyMac X automates the cleanup: it lets you clear all browsing data at the touch of a button. Additionally, you can run a full system scan to optimize and maintain your macOS. It's free to try the app, so you don't lose anything!
How to set the default browser on Mac through System Preferences
Apple changed the way you set the default browser in OS X Yosemite and it has remained the same since then. Previously, as you’ll see below, you had to open Safari to, say, make Google Chrome the default browser. As Apple realized, eventually, that’s plain daft. Here’s how to do it now.
- Click on the Apple menu and select System Preferences.
- Choose the General tab.
- Just over halfway down, there’s a menu next to the “Default web browser.” Click on it and choose the browser you want to set as the default.
How to change the default web browser from the browser's settings
Every browser wants to be the default — it’s the most obvious way to increase user numbers. And so whenever you open a browser that’s not the default, you’ll see a pop-up window asking if you want to set it as your browser of choice. If you choose so, it will change the System Preferences setting and position itself as the default.
If you refuse and later decide you want to make it the default, after all, that’s easy too. Here’s how you do it in some of the more popular browsers for macOS.
Safari
- Launch the Safari browser.
- Go to the Safari menu and choose Preferences.
- In the general tab, press the Set Default button.
- Press Use 'Safari' to confirm.
Chrome
- To make Chrome the default browser, first of all, launch it.
- Click on the Chrome menu and select Preferences.
- On the web page that opens, scroll down until you see the 'Default browser.'
- Click 'Make default' and confirm.
Firefox
- Launch Firefox.
- In the Firefox menu, click Preferences.
- At the top of the page, you should see “General” and underneath it, a message saying that Firefox isn’t currently your default browser. To the right of that, click Make Default.
If you want to change your default browser to any other browser not mentioned in this article, you can take a similar route: browser menu > Preferences > Make (Set) default.
3 quick tips to make your browser faster
Whichever web browser you use, there are some tips you should remember in order to keep it running optimally.
1. Always use the most up-to-date version.
Safari updates with macOS system updates, so make sure you install system updates when they become available. Most browsers automatically update themselves when you close and reopen them. But if you keep them open permanently, they won’t update. So the easiest way to keep them updated is to quit them every now and again.
2. Don’t keep lots of tabs open at once.
Open tabs, even those that are hidden, consume RAM, processor cycles, and energy. The more you have open, the slower your Mac will become. So close tabs you no longer need.
3. Keep your Mac clean of junk
Unnecessary files, including cache, cookies, language files, and old updates can slow down your whole system, as they take more and more space. The simplest way to get rid of them is to use a dedicated app like CleanMyMac X. To quickly delete useless files on your Mac, follow the steps:
- Download CleanMyMac X and launch it.
- Click Smart Scan.
- Click Run.
As you can see, setting your default web browser in macOS is very easy — choosing which browser to use maybe less so. Whichever browser you choose, you should maintain it to keep it running optimally, CleanMyMac X can help do that easily.
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Summary :
Google Chrome, the popular free cross-platform web browser, is widely used all over the world. If you use a Mac and haven’t installed Chrome yet, or you uninstalled Google Chrome browser and want to reinstall, here is a detailed guide for how to download and install Chrome for Mac computer.
Not long ago, we wrote a post introducing how to download and install Chrome for Windows 10. For Mac users, here we also provide a guide for how to download and install Chrome for Mac. Check the details below.
Requirements for Google Chrome Download for Mac
To install Chrome browser on a Mac computer, the computer must meet the system requirements. To use Google Chrome on Mac, you should be in macOS 10.10 (Yosemite) or later. Other lower versions of macOS can’t install Chrome any more.
How to Download and Install Chrome for Mac Computer
Step 1. Download the Chrome installation file.
You can open Safari or other web browsers on your Mac computer. Go to https://www.google.com/chrome/ in the browser. Click Download Chrome for Mac button.
Next select the correct version of Chrome to download based on your Mac processor: Intel or Apple.
How to check your Mac specs: You can click Apple icon on your Mac and click About this Mac. Under Overview tab, you can check your Mac processor type next Processor or Chip.
Then in the pop-up terms of service window, click Accept and Install button to download the installation file of Google Chrome application.
Step 2. Install Google Chrome for Mac.
After finishing downloading, you should get a googlechrome.dmg file. Click the installation file to open it. Find Chrome and drag Chrome to the Application folder. Enter your admin password if it asks.
Now you should have installed Chrome on your Mac computer. You can launch Google Chrome from Applications or from Dock.
Step 3. Unmount the Chrome installer.
After you successfully installed Google Chrome on Mac, you can open Chrome and open Finder, click Eject next to Google Chrome in the sidebar to unmount the installer.
How to Set Google Chrome the Default Browser on Mac
If you want to make Google Chrome the default browser on your Mac computer, you can launch Chrome and click the three-dot icon at the top-right corner and click Settings. Scroll down and tick “Make Google Chrome my default browser” option.
How To Make Google Your Browser On A Mac
How to Enable Automatic Chrome Update on Mac
If you download and install Chrome in your Applications folder, you can set Chrome to update automatically on Mac so that you can always get the latest version of Chrome.
You can open Chrome, click the three-dot icon, click Help -> About Google Chrome, then check Automatically update Chrome for all users option.
Is my Chrome up to date? Learn how to check if your version of Google Chrome browser is up to date in this tutorial.
Make Google Chrome Default Browser
Fix Can’t Install Google Chrome on Mac – 5 Tips
If you encounter problems when you download and install Chrome on Mac, you can try the troubleshooting tips below to see if it can help you fix the problem.
Tip 1. Make sure your Mac OS version is compatible with Chrome.
Tip 2. Make sure to choose the right type of processor of your Mac computer to download Chrome.
Tip 3. Check your internet connection. Restart your route and modern, etc. to fix internet connection problems.
Tip 4. Remove the installation file and try to download Chrome for Mac again.
Tip 5. Temporarily disable antivirus software and firewall.
This post introduces how to start Chrome in safe mode, how to turn on or turn off Safe Mode in Chrome, Chrome Incognito mode shortcut.
Conclusion
Make Safari Default Browser Mac
You can follow the guide in this post to download and install Google Chrome for Mac. Hope it helps.