Android: make music links open in the right app
Short answer
On Android 12 and newer, a link only opens in an app if that app is allowed to handle its domain. For music links: open Settings → Apps → SongFlip → Open by default, tap Add links and tick the services you receive links from. A greyed-out domain means another app – usually that service's official app – already owns it; Android allows only one app per domain. Your player app itself stays untouched.
How Android decides where a link opens
Since Android 12, web links are no longer offered to every app that says it can open them. Android checks whether an app is verified for the domain or whether you have approved it yourself in the settings. If neither applies, the link goes to the browser – which is why a music link often ends up in Chrome even though a suitable app is installed. Android 13 to 16 work the same way; only the menus have shifted slightly.
Each domain can belong to exactly one app. The Spotify app is verified for open.spotify.com, the YouTube Music app for music.youtube.com, and so on. SongFlip can't be verified for other companies' domains – you have to approve it once by hand. That is the one-time step that makes 0-tap opening possible afterwards.
A major privacy and performance benefit of this architecture: SongFlip does not run as a background service or battery-draining daemon. It is registered directly with Android's native link dispatch system. The app stays completely dormant until you tap a music link, redirects silently in milliseconds, and closes immediately.
Setting SongFlip as default – step by step
- Open SongFlip and choose your player. The setup screen has a button that takes you straight to the right settings page.
- Alternatively: Settings → Apps → SongFlip → Open by default. Make sure Open supported links is switched on.
- Tap Add links and tick every domain whose links SongFlip should take over – for example
open.spotify.com,spotify.link,music.apple.com,deezer.page.link. - Test it: tap a link from a chat, a Reddit megathread or social media. If the song starts in your player, you're done.
Only tick the services you get links from. Your own player's domain doesn't need SongFlip.
The menu looks different on my phone
Manufacturers rename and move this page. The names below are typical, but can vary by model and software version:
| Phone | Where to look |
|---|---|
| Pixel and near-stock Android | Settings → Apps → SongFlip → Open by default → Add link |
| Samsung (One UI) | Settings → Apps → SongFlip → Set as default or Open by default, then the supported links / web addresses entry |
| Xiaomi, Redmi, POCO | Settings → Apps → Manage apps → SongFlip → Open by default or Set as default |
If you can't find it, type open by default or supported links into the search field of the Settings app.
Domain greyed out: what it means and what to do
A greyed-out entry is not an error in SongFlip. It means another app is verified for that domain – almost always the service's own app. As long as it is installed and claims its links, Android won't let a second app take them. You have two options:
- Uninstall the source app if you don't use that service anyway – e.g. the Apple Music app on a phone where you only listen on Spotify.
- Keep it, but release its links: open Settings → Apps → [source app] → Open by default and switch off Open supported links. Then return to SongFlip and tick the domain, which is now selectable.
After updating or reinstalling the source app, it may claim its domains again. If links suddenly bypass SongFlip, check this page first.
Resetting when nothing works any more
- In Settings → Apps → SongFlip → Open by default, untick all domains, then add them again.
- Check whether a browser or another link app is set for the same domains and remove it there.
- Make sure SongFlip isn't paused: with Smart Pause (via the quick settings tile or in the app), redirection can be paused for 15 minutes, 1 hour or until morning. A forgotten pause looks exactly like a broken setup.
Links opened inside an app's own browser never reach Android – that and other chat-specific snags are covered in the guide to music links from WhatsApp and Telegram.
Get SongFlip for Android & iPhone
Free, no account, no ads. Android opens music links with 0 taps, iPhone with 1 tap from the share menu.
Frequently asked questions
Because the official app is installed and verified for that domain. If it is your player, that's fine – you don't need it in SongFlip. If you want to convert links from that service, uninstall the app or switch off its Open supported links.
No. Your player stays as it is. SongFlip only takes over the links of the source services you tick, converts them and hands the result to your player.
Yes, easily with Smart Pause. You can pause SongFlip directly in the app or via the Quick Settings tile in your Android notification shade for 15 minutes, 1 hour, or until tomorrow morning. During this time, links open normally in their original service – handy if you want to inspect a shared link or playlist as-is.
Yes. Share the link to SongFlip, or paste it into the web demo to convert it into a link for another service. The default setting is only needed for automatic 0-tap opening.
No. iOS doesn't let apps take over other companies' links. There, SongFlip works via the share menu or a shortcut on the Action Button – 1 tap per link.