TL;DR: You cannot reliably force Safari by asking followers to tap menu options, because almost nobody does. The reliable way is a deeplink from OpenUp.to that opens the native app or pushes the link into Safari automatically, so your followers land where logins and payment work. Free, no code.

If you want your links to open in Safari instead of Instagram's cramped in app browser, here is the realistic way to do it.

Why the manual method fails?

You can tell followers to tap the three dots and choose Open in Safari, but almost nobody reads or follows that instruction. Relying on your audience to fix the browser is not a real solution.

The reliable method

A deeplink opens the native app when one exists, or pushes the link into the phone's main browser otherwise, automatically. Your follower does nothing extra, and they land where saved logins, autofill, and payment work.

Step by step

1. Sign up free at OpenUp.to.

2. Paste your link.

3. Copy the deeplink.

4. Use it in your bio or posts.

Why you cannot rely on the manual method?

The most common advice for escaping the in app browser is to tell people to tap the three dots in the corner and choose open in Safari or open in browser. Technically this works, but in practice it fails almost completely, because the overwhelming majority of people never read the instruction, never notice the menu, or simply cannot be bothered. Asking your audience to perform a manual workaround to fix the social platform's behavior puts the effort on exactly the wrong person. Your follower tapped because they wanted your content, not because they signed up to troubleshoot a browser. If your strategy depends on people doing extra steps, you have already lost most of them.

What forcing Safari actually means?

When creators say they want a link to open in Safari, what they really want is for the link to escape the cramped in app browser and land somewhere normal, where saved logins, autofill, and payment work. There are two good outcomes that satisfy this. For destinations with a native app, like YouTube, Spotify, or Amazon, the best result is opening that app directly, which is even better than Safari because the person is fully logged in. For purely web based destinations, the best result is opening the phone's main browser, Safari on iPhone or Chrome on Android, where the person's web logins live. A good tool delivers whichever of these is right for each link, automatically.

The reliable method: a deeplink

A deeplink does this work for you. When someone taps it, it detects the destination and the device, then opens the native app or pushes the link into the phone's main browser, all without asking your follower to do anything. This is the only approach that works silently and consistently for everyone, because it removes the dependency on your audience taking extra steps. You set it up once, and every tap from then on lands in the right place.

Step by step

1. Sign up free at OpenUp.to.

2. Paste the link you want to share.

3. Copy the deeplink it generates.

4. Use that deeplink in your bio or posts.

Why this lifts your results?

Every extra step between a tap and an action loses a share of people. The manual open in Safari instruction is a giant extra step, and it loses almost everyone. A deeplink removes the step entirely, so the people who were interested enough to tap actually reach a working experience. You are not getting more traffic, you are keeping far more of the traffic you already earned, which is the cheapest growth available to any creator or business.

A quick test

Open your current link from inside Instagram. If you land in the wrapped in app browser, that is what your audience sees. Swap in a deeplink and tap again, and you should land in the native app or your real browser instead. That before and after is the simplest proof that the fix works.

The bottom line

You cannot make your audience escape the in app browser by asking them to, because they will not. A deeplink does it for them automatically, opening the native app or the real browser so that logins, autofill, and payment work. It is free to start, takes under a minute, and quietly protects every link you share from the conversion leak the in app browser causes.

Why this is worth setting up once?

The beauty of fixing the in app browser with a deeplink is that it is a one time setup with an ongoing payoff. You do not have to remember to do anything, you do not have to train your audience, and you do not have to keep tweaking it. Once your important links are deeplinks, every tap from then on lands in the right place automatically. For a creator or business juggling a dozen other priorities, that kind of set and forget fix is exactly what you want: a small effort now that quietly protects your conversions on every link, every day, without further attention.

Use it on the links that matter most first

If you have many links, start with the ones that carry the most traffic and the most important goals, usually your main bio link and your top product or content link. Convert those to deeplinks first, confirm they open the right place on your phone, and put them live. Once your highest value links are protected, roll the same approach out to the rest at your own pace. Prioritizing your biggest leaks first means you feel the benefit quickly and stay motivated to finish the job.

A simple before and after you can run now

Open your current link from inside Instagram and watch where it lands. If you see the social app's interface wrapped around the page, you are in the in app browser, and so is your audience. Swap in a deeplink, tap again, and the destination should open in the native app or your real browser instead. That thirty second test is the clearest proof that the fix works, and it is worth running on every important link you share.

The bottom line

You cannot rely on your audience to escape the in app browser, because they will not take the extra step. A deeplink does it for them automatically, opening the native app or the real browser where logins, autofill, and payment work. It is free to start, takes under a minute, and quietly protects every link you share from the conversion leak the in app browser causes.

What this means for your whole link strategy?

Once you accept that you cannot rely on manual workarounds, your link strategy gets simpler, not harder. Instead of writing instructions in your bio like tap the dots to open in Safari, which most people ignore anyway, you just use deeplinks and let them do the work silently. Your bio gets cleaner, your audience does less, and more of them convert. It is a rare case where the better solution is also the simpler one, because you are removing a step rather than adding one. Every link becomes a deeplink, and the whole problem of escaping the in app browser quietly disappears from your list of worries.

Frequently asked questions

Can I always force Safari specifically? OpenUp routes to the native app when one exists and to the phone's main browser otherwise, which is what most people mean.

Is it free? Yes. Paid plans start at $8.99 per month.

Can I always force Safari specifically? OpenUp opens the native app when one exists and the phone's main browser otherwise, which is what most people mean by forcing Safari.

Is it free? Yes. Paid plans start at $8.99 per month.

Do my followers have to change a setting? No. The deeplink handles it automatically when they tap.

Does it work on both iPhone and Android? Yes, automatically on both, opening the native app or the phone's main browser as appropriate.

Is it free? Yes. The free plan covers it, and paid plans start at $8.99 per month.

Will my audience notice anything different? Only that your links feel smoother, opening the app or their real browser instead of a cramped one.

Can I use this on TikTok and Facebook as well? Yes. The same deeplink escapes the in app browser on all of them, with no extra setup per platform.

Last updated: June 2026. Written by the OpenUp.to team.

Internal links: deeplink generator, Instagram solution, pricing