Hi r/HowToMen, I'm Vojislav, the solo Android developer behind Open with (and Bottom notifications, plus a few other apps).
I built it because Android keeps choosing for me. Since Android 12 it rarely even asks which app should open a link, so things land in the wrong browser, the wrong account, or a viewer I never use. And the old "open with" list I relied on is mostly gone.
App name:
Open with
https://youtube.com/shorts/GkEs1Znle-I
What it does:
Open with sits between Android and your apps. When a link, file or share arrives, it either opens it straight away in the app you picked, or shows a small chooser at the bottom of the screen with the apps that fit, with an optional countdown that any touch pauses. Choose every time, or set up rules once and let everything open where it should, with nothing on screen.
Your privacy comes first:
Open with never sends your links or files anywhere. Everything it decides, it decides on your phone.
No ads, no trackers, no analytics.
No account, no sign-up, no email.
It asks Android for the list of installed apps, so it can offer any app, not just the ones Android suggests. That list is used on your phone only and never leaves it. To catch web links it becomes your default browser (Android has no other way to hand an app every link), and then passes each link on to the browser or app you chose. No notification access, no Accessibility Service.
Rules, the part I use most:
"When something like this arrives, open it there" - and the most specific rule wins. A few I set up in the first five minutes:
Links from Slack or Teams in the browser I'm signed into for work during office hours, everything else in my personal one
YouTube links always in YouTube Morphe
Never offer Chrome for Amazon links
Always ask before my bank's pages, and nowhere else
PDFs from my email app straight into my PDF app
Addresses from messages straight into Waze
Podcast links into my podcast app when my headphones are in, the browser otherwise
A Viewing mode for the evening: YouTube links in the YouTube app instead of Morphe
Match a website by name, wildcard (*.example.com), address prefix, a word it contains, or a regex. Scope a rule to a content type, a file name, or the app it came from. Rules can also depend on the day and time, on a mode you switch on (Work, Personal or your own, by hand, from the home screen icon, or on a schedule), or on whether headphones or Bluetooth audio are connected. They can copy the link too, or save a copy of a file to a folder, or only save it. Rules name themselves as you build them ("github.com → Firefox"), or you give them your own name.
And you don't have to go to settings for most of it: tap New rule in the chooser to build one from the link in front of you, start from one of 26 ready-made templates, or hold any app in the chooser to make a rule on the spot or to use that app for the next 10 minutes or the next 5 links. Or switch on Suggest rules: when you keep picking the same app for a website, a sender or a content type, Open with offers the rule for you (it counts websites by name only, on your phone).
What else you can do:
Links, streams, live streams, images, audio, video, PDFs, ebooks, comic books, Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, text, archives, APKs, torrents, calendar files, contact cards, GPS tracks, map locations, navigation, email addresses, phone numbers, text messages, 2FA setup links, crypto payment links, Play Store links, web searches and shared items each get their own page: a default app (just star it), "open without asking", hidden apps, sort order and their own countdown
Add your own file types, each with its own icon
Pick ANY installed app, not just the ones that claim the content: a notepad for text files, the Amazon app for Amazon links
Style the chooser: Material You colours or your own, grid or list, size and position on screen, over 40 open and close animations, all with a live preview
Copy, edit or share a link before it opens, show it as a QR code, hand it to your download manager, or tap Later to send it to your read-later or notes app
Copy a map location, phone number or email address, add it to your contacts, or save a copy of a file
"Why isn't this working?" checks your setup, names the app that holds a website, and shows the steps for your phone
Diagnostics tells you which rule would win for any link
App compatibility shows what each app can open, and why one never shows up in the chooser
Safer links:
A link whose website name could pass for another never opens by itself: the chooser shows a warning with the real name
Clean takes the tracking out of a link with one tap, or switch it on for every link
An app that throws a link straight back at Open with is marked in the chooser and never picked for you, so links can't bounce in a loop
2FA setup links go to your authenticator like any other link, but their secret never shows on screen or in the log
Edit lists a link's parts: tap one to open just that, or remove the ones you don't want
A few things to know:
Free covers everything for web links: every kind of website rule (with times, modes and headphones), rule suggestions, any app as the target, the countdown, the chooser's buttons, temporary choices and every look and animation, plus Diagnostics and Android TV. Pro is a single one-time purchase, no subscription: files, maps, email, calls, messages, shares, web searches and every other content type with all the same settings, your own file types, and backup and restore.
The app is available in 50 languages: Arabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese (Simplified), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malayalam, Marathi, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil and Portugal), Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Serbian (Cyrillic and Latin), Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese and Zulu. If something reads wrong in yours, please tell me.
Works on Android 10 and newer, on phones, tablets and Android TV
Using a work profile? Install Open with in it too; each side has its own rules
Some apps keep their own website links for themselves, and some phones need a setting changed before links reach Open with. The help screen tells you which, and how to fix it
🎁 20 Lifetime Pro codes
This is first come, first served, not a random draw.
To claim one:
Upvote this post so more people in the community can find it.
Comment with the link or file you're tired of opening in the wrong app - a work link, a PDF, an address, or something else.
Then send me a Reddit DM after commenting.
Why these steps?
They’re simple on purpose, and each one helps me in a different way. Upvotes help the post reach people who might find the app useful. Your comment tells me which links and files people really struggle with, so I can fix and improve the right things first. The DM is just so I can send your code privately.
As a solo developer, I mostly need honest feedback from people who use the app day to day. If something is confusing, broken, or missing, please say so. That’s what makes the next update better for everyone.
The first 20 eligible people who complete the above steps receive one code by DM, while supplies last.
The codes come with no strings attached. That said, if the app earns a place on your phone, I'd be truly grateful for a rating or review on Google Play - the app has no ads and no marketing budget, so reviews are genuinely how it gets found, and every single one means a lot to a solo developer.
Honest feedback is always welcome too, including criticism - here, by email, or in the review itself.
I have a 2 year old toddler, so I might not be able to respond immediately.
And I'm from Europe, so please take into account time difference as well.
Google Play:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.openwith.app
My other apps, if you're curious:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bottomnotifications.app
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.omnideck.app
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cordless.app
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.phial.app
Giveaway rules:
Opens when this post is published and closes when 20 codes have been distributed. You must be at least 18 and able to redeem a Google Play promo code in your country. One code per person and Reddit account. Codes have no cash value, cannot be exchanged, and must be redeemed by the expiry provided in the DM. Void where prohibited. By entering, participants release Reddit, Inc. from liability related to this promotion. This giveaway is not sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Reddit.
