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Ask HN: Why does Chrome on Android not open PDF files like Chrome on Windows?
I've found it annoying enough that I avoid clicking PDF links, because they clutter up my Downloads folder.
- joshxyz 4y agosame way chrome on android does not support extensions, they are entirely different underneath. firefox on android allows extensions but firefox on ios doesnt.
- compressedgas 4y agoPerhaps it is because Android Chrome has no extension support, not even pdfium.
- metadat 4y agoBut why are these extensions omitted? I've noticed my iOS device browsers handle PDFs just fine. Struggling to understand why Chrome on Android is crippled.
- compressedgas 4y agoBy not including extensions in Android Chrome, they eliminated Ad blockers.
- izacus 4y agoProbably to keep the Chrome download size down - pdfium is a pretty sizeable library. PDF viewer (as default handler) is part of Google Drive app and was probably deemed redundant to add it to Chrome.
- nonasktell 4y agomaybe because pdf vulnerabilities are found so often that it would unleash one zero day a month
- hulitu 4y agoThis is a good thing. The first thing i do on Win/Linux is to disable this crappy behaviour.
- amadeuspagel 4y agoAlso, why does Chrome on ChromeOS not open PDFs? It's irritating not only because of the downloads folder, but also because it usually makes more sense to have a PDF in a tab, rather then its own window. For example, if an HN submission is a PDF, I want to open both the PDF and the comments in new tabs, and have those tabs next to each other.