How to open Facebook links in your browser (and what to try in Messenger)

To open a Facebook link in your browser, tap it so the website loads inside Facebook, then tap Options at the top right and choose Open in external browser. Those are the steps Facebook's own Help Center describes for the iPhone, iPad and Android app. If the option is missing, copy the address and paste it into Safari or Chrome.

In the Facebook app

1. 1

   Tap the link

   The website opens in Facebook's in-app browser, with a bar at the top that belongs to Facebook rather than to the website.

2. 2

   Open the Options menu

   Facebook's help page on viewing websites in the Facebook app places Options at the top right. It is often shown as three dots; its exact position can differ on your version.

3. 3

   Choose Open in external browser

   Guides also report a browser name in its place on some versions, such as Open in Chrome or Open in Safari. After choosing it, check that the right page opened in the browser you expected.

4. 4

   Retry the step you came for

   Sign in, check out or download again in the browser. Opening it there doesn't carry over a cart or a session from the in-app view.

Is there a setting to always open links externally?

Sometimes, depending on platform and version, and its history is uneven. On Android, Facebook long offered an option to open links externally under its media settings. In June 2021, XDA Developers reported that the option had disappeared for some users. Guides since then describe a similar option under Settings & privacy → Settings → Media, and user reports describe it missing, or switched back, on other versions.

Facebook's Help Center also has an article on editing Facebook's in-app browser settings, with separate instructions for Android and iPhone. Its current steps didn't appear in our research, so open it on your phone and compare it with what your app shows. Whatever you switch, check the result: open a link from a post and see where it lands.

iPhone and Android differ in two ways

• Which browser opens. On iPhone, your default browser is an iOS setting; Apple's default is Safari. On Android, an external link usually opens in the browser Android has set as the default, which you can change in Android's settings. Neither preference stops Facebook from showing a page in its own browser first.
• Which settings you get. The Android app is where the always-open-externally option has been reported most often. On iPhone, plan on the per-link Options menu and the copy fallback, and check your settings rather than assuming a switch exists.

Closed the page already? Use Link history

Facebook keeps a list of links you tapped and websites you visited in its in-app browser for the past 30 days, according to its help page on seeing links you've visited. You reach it from the menu under Settings & privacy → Link history. The same page says it only works while enhanced browsing is on, and that links from Messenger chats are not included. Open the entry again, then use Options or copy the address.

Messenger links

Messenger is a separate app, and the Messenger help pages we found don't document an external-browser setting. Third-party guides describe a switch called Open links in external browser, or Open links in default browser, under Settings → Photos & media. Check whether your version has it. If not, look for a menu on the opened page, or copy the link from the conversation and paste it into your browser.

Because Link history excludes Messenger chats, a link you closed in Messenger has to be found again in the conversation itself.

If there is no menu and no copy option

If the full address is visible at the top of the page, type it into your browser, keeping its path and any parameters after the question mark. Otherwise go back to the post or message and look for a share action that copies the link. If no usable address is exposed, ask the person or business who shared it for the direct website address.

For businesses and creators sharing links on Facebook

Test the places your audience actually taps: a feed post, an ad, a Marketplace listing and a Messenger conversation can behave differently. Record which step fails, if any, in the in-app view and in the browser. The Facebook in-app browser page has a checklist for that.

OpenOut recognises Facebook-family in-app browsers by user agent and groups Messenger under Facebook; that is detection, not proof that every Messenger version behaves the same. On Pro and Agency, once you switch it on, browser guidance shows before your page: by default an opening attempt on Android and a guided copy flow on iPhone. Neither is guaranteed to open the browser, so copy and manual steps stay available. Free includes 1 page with up to 3 links and no browser guidance; see pricing.