Install "Choose Browser": https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.ub0r.androi...

I have this installed and all links I can choose between Kiwi Browser or Firefox.

Isn't kiwi discontinued?

Yes, last update was April 2025. Their developer recommends users to move to MS Edge, which I have not made the switch just yet.

Just checking if it got updated because I switched to vivaldi after lack of updates (don't feel comfortable with a browser that doesn't get security patches) but kiwi was good and I wished it development continued.

I have Chrome disabled, and every link that I open comes up in the standalone non-full-browser version of Firefox. I don't know if it would behave differently is Chrome was available, but I don't give it the chance.

Do you know of an example? I use a non-Chrome browser on Android and can't remember encountering this.

it's the "thin" browsers that are half-embedded in other apps, such as Google News. In the menu you can see "Running in Chrome" and "Open in <yourdefaultbowser>"

This feature is called Android Custom Tabs and it is supported by most browsers on Android afaik. I use Firefox for this purpose, but it is possible that certain Google apps always use Chrome for this, not entirely sure.

Some apps specifically open chrome, e.g. chatgpt was doing that for login. Dunno if still is.

No Chrome, no problem. Just remove it or - better still - never install it. Use an AOSP-derived distribution like Lineage, use Cromite as system we view and all your browser engines are belong to you.