My biggest pet peeve when using apps on my Android phone is that they open links within the app. I have to remember to dig into settings to disable that feature for every app, or just put up with whatever basic built-in browser implementation the developer decides to use – looking at you, Instagram!
Chrome custom tabs started solving this problem a while ago; they gave developers a way to dynamically load links in the appropriate Chrome instance, and many apps moved to them. But there’s still a problem: when you open a link to Twitter (X), Slack, or Spotify in a Chrome custom tab, for example, you’re effectively locked out. You can check the page or close it; you cannot continue browsing the original application and keep the article open.
This happens to me several times a day. My coworker shared a link to an interesting story on Slack, I clicked the link but can no longer read our original conversation. Or I open a link from Twitter, but I can no longer see the original tweet or view the author.
However, there is a new Chrome logo (via @artemR and @MishaalRahman)solved this problem.You have to enable it manually like any other Chrome flag by opening a new tab and going to chrome://flag,Look for Continuous CTand click enable At Allow custom tabs be minimized options.
Once you’re done, you’ll see a new minimize button in the upper left corner whenever you open a link within the app. Click the window and the page will minimize to a floating picture-in-picture window that you can drag, close, or reopen. It’s that simple.
Now, if we’re discussing something in Slack, I can open a link, read a bit, minimize it to return to the team chat, and then reopen the link to continue reading. All of this is seamless, no hassle of closing the page, finding the link to open it again, and then scrolling back to where I was.
If I’m viewing an article on Twitter, I can still participate in the conversation or view other replies and the author’s profile without closing the article. If I buy a concert ticket from Spotify, I can continue listening to the song while choosing a seat that I think is worth it.
This is a simple feature that should have been there from the beginning if you ask me.