Android Default Browser
It seems across android 10-12, the ability to avoid setting a default browser was removed. Previously, if the default was unset, a dialog would pop up for links requesting a decision of browser. That dialog is gone (although the one suggesting you change your default, used by browser to assert themselves, remains). In lieu of being unset, it now defaults to the first/only browser app. I tried removing all browser apps, and then reinstalling several concurrently, but it didn’t work (the first browser to download won and became the default).
Forcing users to pick a default increases switching costs, entrenching the dominant position (in this case, the Chrome/Android/Google monopoly). Functionally has been removed: users who wanted to avoid switching could always just set a default. Fuck Google
Taking back control
I couldn’t find any browser switcher apps (similar to browsersaurus for macos) to restore the lost functionality. I vaguely remembered using a browser called Chromer with some minor switching feature, and there were competitors at the time (when I was in high school). Seems they’re all gone. I was able to find the Chromer source and old builds, seems it was renamed and then abandoned. Such is the nature of OSS, free projects languish.