Open geocaching.com site and NOT the app

[+Blazez]

Ok, I must say I really dislike the new gc app. But so once in a while I want to be able to use it so I have it installed on my phone. Most of the times when I use the phone for geocaching (in stead of the gps) I use L4C. Like most apps L4C has an “open on geocaching.com” option.

When de GC app is not installed, safari is opened on the right geocaching page.

When the gc app is installed however, it is always so that the app is opened and NOT safari. I believe in previous times you could select to open safari OR the app. Unfortunately this option is no longer to be found.

So the only option top open the geocaching.com site in safari is top remove the GC app.

Is there any way to disable this irritating link to the app and open the gc.com site in safari?

[+HoustonControl]

Great question because I want to know the same thing. I click a cache link in Safari and it keeps opening it with the freaking app. How do I stop this?

[+mraudrey]

I removed the new app from my phone for this very reason. Thankfully I have a different app I can keep on my phone to geocache with, and it doesn't force me to open it when I want to use safari to access geocaching.com. I really wish Groundspeak would address these deficiencies in the new app, but it's beginning to look more and more like they won't.

[Kckd]

When iOS opens the app from a web link, there is a button in the very upper right of the screen that is a shortcut to open it in safari.

[+Blazez]

When iOS opens the app from a web link, there is a button in the very upper right of the screen that is a shortcut to open it in safari.

Wow. I have really never noticed that.

Still irritating that it opens the app (and i would really, really have that changed), but thank you very much for that tip

[+kunarion]

When iOS opens the app from a web link, there is a button in the very upper right of the screen that is a shortcut to open it in safari.

Wow. I have really never noticed that.

Still irritating that it opens the app (and i would really, really have that changed), but thank you very much for that tip

I have both the old paid and new free "Official Geocaching App" on my iPad Retina and iPhone 5. If I do a Google Search (for example) and get a link to a cache page, one quick tap opens the old App, and if I then try to "open in browser", it shows a GPX file icon to download (no cache web page opens). That is a complete mess. And it's the same thing from either Chrome or Safari. As mentioned, there are icons in the upper corners, but when using that, I often get that "GPX File" to download instead. OK, sure I can delete the old App, but this Topic is about more than just a particular App. It's about not opening Safari when trying to "Open in browser".

 

But here is a work-around. If I instead long-press on that Google result link, a window pops up that allows me to "Open In New Tab". That is one way to open a link in a browser and not open a Geocaching App. And at that point, pull the "browser window" down slightly, and there's a bar that offers to open it in the App. At this point, "Open In New Tab" must be used every time, or else you open in the Geocaching App instead.

 

I also notice that the problem temporarily goes away if I first try opening a cache page while L4C is running. In L4C, while viewing a cache listing, "Open in geocaching.com". Now Safari opens the cache page as expected, instead of the App opening the page. And I can close all Apps and start over, and now I can open it in the browser as expected without any Geocaching App opening. I'm not sure what steps exactly cause it to start working, but I'm guessing it's a sequence of events, fiddling with Safari and L4C, which temporarily unscrambles things. And it may even work if I tried similar steps with the Official Geocaching App instead of L4C.

 

This seems to be an IOS thing, but since it's sort of related to L4C, maybe the L4C forum (if any) can help. There may be shortcuts that cause iThing to consistently "Open in geocaching.com" and not in an App.

Edited April 8, 2017 by kunarion

[lord.lethris]

I have to agree. I "paied" for the classic app and was "forced" to download this and now im "forced" to pay for any cache with a difficulty of 1.5 - which is pritty much every single cache.

 

I dislike this a lot. This has ruined it for me and my family, as we cannot afford this subscription. So days out have been de-fun'd entirly.

 

Well done Groundspeak **slowclap**

[+-Mark-]

When iOS opens the app from a web link, there is a button in the very upper right of the screen that is a shortcut to open it in safari.

Nope, there is not (see screenshot). I had this weird problem yesterday: I click on a link in whatsapp. Safari opens, loads the cache page. The app opens, loads the cache. I click on the 3 dots, choose "open in browser". Safari opens, loads the cache page. And then: The app opens, loads the cache...

 

Today "Open in browser" seems to work again. There was a time, when I could choose, if links to caches open in Safari or in the app. Please return to this option.

 

This only affects links to geocaching.com/geocache/GC* and coord.info. Links to geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GC* work as expected and open in Safari.

Edited July 10, 2017 by -Mark-

[+cerberus1]

I have to agree. I "paied" for the classic app and was "forced" to download this and now im "forced" to pay for any cache with a difficulty of 1.5 - which is pritty much every single cache.

 

I dislike this a lot. This has ruined it for me and my family, as we cannot afford this subscription. So days out have been de-fun'd entirly.

 

Well done Groundspeak **slowclap**

No one's "forcing" you to pay, in fact, "1.5 -" are on the free version. For free.

If you go to the site, you can load caches as before with the paid classic.

Curious, if you haven't cached since '13, why an issue now?

Thanks.

[+Coyle_DK]

Now this is a problem again in the iOS Geocaching App.

 

It works for a month ago but now it doesn't work again, and if you hit a link, the app just make a default search in your area, not for the cache in the link.

 

[+thebruce0]

Yep. I noticed that happening again, and I just want to see the cache page show in the browser. Please remove the URL interception to have it open in the app!

[+HoustonControl]

After it opens in the app, you can scroll down and touch “Open in browser”. Annoying, I know. What’s really annoying is if you try to go to an archived cache, because it will not open in the app and will not give you the option of opening in the browser.  I get email notifications of nearby archived caches.  If I decide to click on the link in the email to look at the archived listing, I have to long click, select “Copy”, then switch to Safari and paste it in a browser tab. Seriously?

[+thebruce0]

Yes I noticed that too, not allowing the viewing of an archived cache is pretty limiting, especially if URLs are intercepted to view in the app instead of the browser.

Edited July 13, 2018 by thebruce0

[+MNTA]

Also if you are using your phone to look at unpublished caches on safari then click on the cache page to open it ties to open in the app instead of safari . Which is not allowed since it has not been published yet.

[+IceColdUK]

From email, a ‘long press’ of a cache url brings up a menu of options for opening.  Selected option is sticking for me.

 

[+sunnysky.ger]

There's only one way.... to delete the app..... also logging out from the account didn't help.

[+belwig]

If you use the old dashboard, you can bookmark https://www.geocaching.com/my/default.aspx in safari and it will open your profile in the full site mode. If you use the new dashboard, this won't work and I can't figure out how to do a one-time view of the full site.

 

Another way to open a cache from a link is to let it open in the Geocaching app, then select (...) in the upper right (as of now) the click Share, then Open in Safari

[+PlasmaWave]

Opening cache links into the Official App instead of Safari on an iPhone has been an issue for a long time, but previously a long-press on a e-mail cache link offered options, so if "Open in Safari" was selected this became the default.

 

Recently after my iPhone 7+ updated to iOS 13.1.3, not only did cache links in e-mails open into the Official App but the "Open in browser" option in two third party apps (Looking4Cache & Cachly) also opened into the Official App ... very frustrating!

 

The previous long-press from an e-mail did not set the default to opening in Safari ... worked for that one time, but reverted to the Official App afterwards. There are no options offered using the two tp apps.

 

I followed instructions in another thread and found long-pressing the GC code on a Safari cache page (top right of page), then selecting "open" or "open in new tab" changed the default to Safari for e-mails, L4C & Cachly. This is still the default after closing everything a couple of times and re-booting the phone.

 

iPhone instructions:  Open a cache page in Safari >> locate the GC code in the upper right corner of the page >> long-press the GC code and an option window opens >> tap "open" or "open in new tab" ... default should then be to open in Safari

[+thebruce0]

Independently verified - that's exactly how I got mine set back again last week after the iOS update killed the association. The setting only stuck using the Safari web page long-press.

[+Scouting4Ever]

On 7/13/2018 at 10:15 AM, HoustonControl said:

After it opens in the app, you can scroll down and touch “Open in browser”. Annoying, I know. What’s really annoying is if you try to go to an archived cache, because it will not open in the app and will not give you the option of opening in the browser.  I get email notifications of nearby archived caches.  If I decide to click on the link in the email to look at the archived listing, I have to long click, select “Copy”, then switch to Safari and paste it in a browser tab. Seriously?

Sorry for jumping in at this late date but I have had problems with this "open in App instead of browser" problem for a while.  Groundspeak fixed it last year (June 2020) but it is broken again.  The "Open in browser" option in the App, described above, is somewhat annoying but it does work... as long as the App is willing to display the geocache.  I get notified when geocaches in my area are archived and I like to see what they are.  Well... the App just tells you that they are archived and will not display them.  No option to scroll down and "Open in browser".  There are a couple work-arounds (e.g., long press and add to reading list and then view it later in Safari; long press and Share..., select Firefox [Safari isn't offered at this point], then "Open in Firefox") but these work-arounds are not convenient.  You should be able keep the default set to Safari and not have it co-opted by the Geocaching App.  Just my opinion... it seems the application developers have a different view.