Even if you do not play with iOS 14 of macOS Big Sur However, there is one setting you want to know if you are an Apple News + subscriber. That’s because starting with iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur, web links to news stories that you tap or click will include said stories in Apple News +, instead of the publisher’s page.
This “feature” only applies to publishers participating in Apple News +, but it’s a bit of a shocking takeover by Apple’s app. While it’s not uncommon for several websites to redirect links to their apps whenever possible, or at least ask if you want to launch the associated app instead of the web-based content you are trying to get, Apple’s implementation in iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur sends you directly to the News app. And, as far as I can tell, this behavior is enabled by default.
To turn it on iOS 14—That you’d rather keep browsing a publisher’s website than launch the same content into the Apple app – Settings> News. Look in the ‘Open weblinks in news’ option and turn it off:
And if you do not want to treat the same treatment on macOS Big Sur, you want to launch the News app and record its preferences via the News menu in your menu bar. You will see this screen:
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Uncheck this box if you prefer to keep your browsing distance from reading News.
Apple’s implementation of this redirect is not perfect. As Dieter Bohn writes for The edge:
‘I find the behavior a bit strange. When you click on Safari, it opens Apple News. When you click on a link in Chrome, it stays in Chrome. When you click on a link in another app like Slack, it opens in Apple News – even if your default browser is Chrome. That’s weird because it’s not clear how Big Sur knows it should redirect some websites, but not others. Check it with a pre-approved list of participating publisher sites (if so, at least it’s offline)? Is that list stored locally or is it checking with Apple? Whatever the answer, the point is that what happens when you click on a link is inconsistent. Maybe it opens a browser, maybe it opens Apple News. ”
Of course, there is also one big advantage to keeping these options enabled. If you subscribe to Apple News +, but not to news sites individually, you should click on stories hosted on paywall sites, instead of downloading the full article in Apple’s apps, in instead of going to a “login here!” Send as “sorry, subscribers only”.
Yet this is a bit of an overreach by Apple? I will be curious to see what people once thought the definitive versions iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur will launch for everyone.
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