LinkSafe: URL App-Switching Confirmation

[Joshua Tucker]

Applications that work in conjunction with one another can be a blessing and a curse, especially in regards to URLs. It is convenient to be able to tap a URL within one application and for it to automatically open another application to read or play the link or video. But what can be aggravating is when you tap a URL within an application on accident and it automatically opens another, potentially stopping what you were working on. A recent tweak by Will Strafach (@Chronic) fixes the issue of automatic URL app-switching.

In current OS functionality, if you click a link that opens another application (e.g. a URL in Notes when tapped opens Safari), it automatically launches the next application in the sequence. This can be a problem if it's accidental and it goes right to the next application without control. LinkSafe fixes this issue by pulling up a confirmation window to "Cancel or Allow" an application switch. This comes in handy and alleviates any issue of accidental URL tapping. The tweak is simple and has no Settings.app configurations. It works well and is definitely a good addition to your iDevice. It is currently available on Cydia for $.99.

Name: LinkSafe
Author: Will Strafach
Version: 1.0
Price: $.99

While reviewing Will's tweak, I was able to make contact with him and ask him a few questions. He graciously answered the following:

JOSH: What gave you the idea to create LinkSafe?
WILL: I was pretty annoyed by the issue of being thrown into another application
(like YouTube) after accidentally tapping a certain link, or tapping a
link/button that I didn't know would try leading me there. So I made
this as a solution.

JOSH: How long have you been working on LinkSafe? Was this tweak coded completely on your own or did you have collaboration from other developers in the community?
WILL: Coded on my own. Not sure exactly how long I spent working on it, but
it wasn't able to put it together too quickly due to certain bugs I
had to hack around. The initial coding of it didn't take too long, but
I had to spend roughly a week testing and reworking some things due to
bugs (although to be fair, they were due to me taking some shortcuts
in the initial build)

JOSH: In light of this release, is there any other developments that you're working on currently? Could you elaborate?
WILL: I usually like to keep my projects low key until they are about to be
released, but one somewhat major project I have in the works (it's
not a jailbreak or unlock solution, as many have incorrectly
guessed) has a Twitter account, @project039. No details have been
released yet but I'll just say any iOS device owners (even
unjailbroken) who like my software may want to give it a follow, I'll
probably do something special like DM an invite to all people who are
following it by the time our private/closed beta launches.




A video demo below gives a simple explanation of how LinkSafe works:



For more information about LinkSafe and other developments by Will, follow him on Twitter.

Source(s): Will Strafach

[pmoney1]

Your submission could not be processed because a security token was invalid.

what does that mean? thats what it say when i try to download the new software for redsnow on my windows computer

[Joshua Tucker]

Your submission could not be processed because a security token was invalid.

what does that mean? thats what it say when i try to download the new software for redsnow on my windows computer

This is probably not the best thread to post in for that type of question. Try the forums.

[DaMan05]

It would be great if it could differentiate normal links (ie http://...) from normal buttons.

For example, I hate how in some apps, clicking an "About" or "More Info" button will open Safari. I would love a confirmation for those.

But I would see a confirmation for normal http links as a hinderance.