It asks first time - do you want to open it and should it remember your choice. Later you can set default in android settings or remove the yt app default setting.

It's buried in there somewhere.

I had an old Galaxy S6 Active sitting around, so I just did a factory reset and didn't sign into any accounts. I opened Chrome and searched for "keyboard cat" using the URL bar. I tapped on the first result, and it opened the YouTube app without any user prompt from Chrome. This is on Android 6.0.1, and I'll give you that this could theoretically be a Samsung specific modification, but that doesn't seem like the simplest assumption. My best attempt at science (without wiping my main device) says you're wrong. That's how most apps work, but they make a special exception for YouTube cuz they own it.

Edit: I'll add that this would be particularly annoying if I were actually trying to watch a video because the YouTube app is so outdated that it prompts you to download an update with no option to just watch the video, and pressing the update button brings you to the Play Store app... which requires a Google sign in. So what should have been a simple link to a video instead funnels the user through two apps where they are asked to sign in with a Google account (or create one if they haven't) and download an update... all without even offering to open the link in their browser. That's pretty embarrassing UX.

It's likely that it already had that default association set up out of the box. If you open up the system App Info screen for YouTube, you should see a section that says "Set as default", and when you open that, it shows you which URLs it hijacks under "Supported web addresses", but in that same screen there should be a "Go to supported URLs" option, where you can choose "In this app", "Ask every time", or "In other app".

I am running Android 10 so it's possible it looks different on Android 6.

My original claim (which DocG disputed) was that clicking on a YouTube link launches the app by default, without asking the user. "By default" implies that this can be changed.

Yup, and it's also something that all apps can request, and the user is always asked for their preference until they say 'don't ask again'.

There really needs to be an always ask next to don’t ask again.

Why? Unless you check "don't ask again" it will always ask...

Because a single accidental click causes a permanent change.

It’s fine to have a settings page that lets you manage pop ups, but a pop up should always be extremely limited in scope.

Its not a permanent change? You just go into the apps settings and remove the intent.

The vast majority of users are not going to be aware of how to fix the behavior.

At the extreme, ‘connect to this wifi network’ and ‘reset to factory settings’ are obviously at different scales of importance and should have significantly different UI. Similarly open this app, and changing a setting are on different scales. Basically, it’s fine if the pop up takes you to some other UI element to make the change, but pop ups should have consistent importance.

There is in the newest version of android!

It really wouldn't let me open a Google Photos shared album in Firefox Android[0], always going to the Photos app. I am certain it never asked me before.

[0] which I needed to share the link to my laptop, as Google Photos only gives you a "copy link" option for a shared album, not actually sharing it. I am SO fed up with this shit, programs fighting to keep me "in the ecosystem" while sacrificing UX and just blocking you from completing a task.

I’ll add the Photos on Yelp embedded in Apple Maps locations with accidental taps launching the Yelp native app or falling back to the App Store to download it.

At least Google Assistant allows me to navigate with a non-Google Maps app

Siri does too now, but you can’t set a non-Apple default. Have to specify “give me directions using google maps” each time.

https://ww.9to5mac.com/2019/09/19/google-maps-waze-siri/

On the other hand Google assistant seemingly can’t even text through google voice.