Guide to configuring your internet browser's default email settings
Many hyperlinks found on websites are set to open an email. When clicked on, these “mailto” links will cause your computer or phone to attempt to open the new email in your system’s default email client.
This default email is typically Microsoft Outlook or Apple Mail. However, you may use a different email program, such as Gmail, instead of the one your computer set as the default. If so, there are some simple steps you can follow to override this and force your browser to open the email in your chosen program.
Our guide to setting up your own default email client offers instructions for the four main internet browsers:
Google Chrome
- Open the Chrome web browser.
- Open “Settings” by either clicking the Chrome tab at the top left, or clicking the three dots in the top right corner of the browser, and scrolling down to “Settings.”
- Under “Privacy and Security” > “Site settings,” scroll down until you find “Protocol handlers.”
- From there you can select the email program you wish to use as default. If you don’t see “mail.google.com” or “Gmail” on the list, continue to the next steps:
- Open a new tab/window and go to your inbox (gmail.com).
- You should be able to see the protocol handler icon at the end of your browser’s address bar. Click on it.
- On the opened prompt, select “Allow” and then click “Done”.
Mozilla Firefox
- Open the Firefox web browser.
- Click the Firefox menu the top left-hand corner of the window.
- Click “Options” (PC) or “Preferences” (Mac).
- In the General panel, go to the “Applications” section.
- Use the search bar for “mailto.”
- Click on the “Action” column in the mailto row to change the action.
- Select your desired, default email client (e.g. Use Gmail, etc.).
Apple Safari
On Mac:
Open the Mail app and make sure that it’s set up to use any email account. If necessary, add an email account. You can remove or disable the account in Mail settings after you complete the remaining steps. If you don’t want to temporarily add an email account, check the settings of your other email app: it might offer a way to set itself as the default email app.
From the Mail menu in the menu bar, choose “Settings” (or Preferences, depending on your OS).
Click General, then choose an email app from the “Default email reader” pop-up menu. If you don’t see your email app in the menu, choose Select from the menu, then select your email app from the file dialog that opens.
On Windows:
- Go to your Windows settings, navigate to “Apps” > “Default apps,” and then select the email application you want to use as the default under the “Email” option; you cannot directly change the default email client within Safari on Windows as this setting is managed by the operating system itself.
Microsoft Edge
Open Default Programs by clicking the Start button, and then clicking Default Programs.
Click Set your default programs.
Under Programs, click the e‑mail program you’d like to use, and then click Set this program as default.
Click OK.
Opera
- Open the Opera browser.
- Go to opera://settings/handlers.
- Select your email program.
Microsoft Bing
- Open the Windows Start menu.
- Click on “Settings”.
- Select “Apps”.
- Choose “Default apps” from the left menu.
- Under “Email,” click on the currently selected program and choose your desired email client.