When I click on a link in Gmail it stays in the Gmail app instead of going directly to Safari and then allows google to follow my every click. How do I stop that and just let that happen in Safari automatically?

Nope. Google changed this recently.

The setting that you refer to is to choose between Chrome (if installed, with a "get" button if not) and Safari.

The problem is that the Gmail app now ignores this setting, and opens all web links within itself. And all links you click through to.

There are privacy implications, and usability ones too (because it is failing to correctly render pages, and missing sections).

In the setting that you refer to, having it set to Safari, with Chrome not/never installed, and "Ask me which app to use every time" deselected: it still opens all web links within the Gmail app, not by passing them to Safari.

Gmail app is therefore broken and the only workaround is to use both apps, Gmail for a nice view of email, and Mail to open links...

anotherID wrote:

In the setting that you refer to, having it set to Safari, with Chrome not/never installed, and "Ask me which app to use every time" deselected: it still opens all web links within the Gmail app, not by passing them to Safari.

Tap on the Safari icon in the lower right corner.

If you're using Gmail, Google is already tracking pretty much everything you do.

Okay, that helps a bit, but the fact is it's doing the wrong thing and the opt-out mechanism is non-existent.

The functionality issues and the breaking of a usable unified browser history are annoying. Google is to a large extent copying Facebook here, which is not a good thing.

Personally, I'd love to see Apple put a stop to this behaviour on the grounds that it always has banned third-party web browsers from the App Store ... but I suspect that Facebook is too powerful for this, and hence Google is joining in because it can.

anotherID wrote:

Personally, I'd love to see Apple put a stop to this behaviour on the grounds that it always has banned third-party web browsers from the App Store ... but I suspect that Facebook is too powerful for this, and hence Google is joining in because it can.

Apple has never, to the best of my knowledge, banned third party browsers from the App Store. I have Chrome on my phone right now. And, as far as I recall, there have always been in-app browsers.

anotherID wrote:

Personally, I'd love to see Apple put a stop to this behaviour on the grounds that it always has banned third-party web browsers from the App Store

Huh? I just did a search of the app store, and found over 100 web browsers.

When I tap a link in gmail it opens Safari as an embedded browser. If this isn't what you want delete the gmail app and instead use the built-in mail app to access your gmail. Or tap the Safari icon in the lower right corner in the embedded browser to go to the Safari app rather than the embedded Safari browser. gmail isn't the only one; many apps use the Safari engine as an embedded browser.

As Idris said, however, Google is already tracking everything you do. You would be hard-pressed to find any site that doesn't have embedded Google Analytics.

Google have already faced a congressional inquiry over their 'inquisitiveness" this is just more of the same. Everything you see/write or do on Google is for sale, that is how come the Email system is free.

Go to settings in the Gmail app, then chose Google Apps. Select you're preferred browser.

To the best of my knowledge, it's been this way for years.