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When you click on a link in the iTunes App Store or Music Store from your web browser, iTunes web links usually show up. This is annoying, especially when you don’t want to open that web link because it will start playing music or downloading something you don’t want until you die. You wish you could stop your Mac or Windows computer from opening these links. Here’s how to Stop iTunes From Opening Web Links on a Mac or a Windows PC.
Website about Apple The Apple Blog explains how to stop iTunes web previews from opening iTunes automatically along with the preview. (You can always click through to iTunes after seeing the preview on the website.) The post explains how the pages open iTunes (using JavaScript), and then the author gives solutions for different browsers, such as Firefox, Chrome, and Safari. These solutions should work on both Windows and OS X. As an example, in Firefox:
How to Stop iTunes From Opening Web Links
Firefox
- Select the three-linked menu button on the upper-right side of Firefox.
- Choose Options.
- Search for Application from the search bar at the top.
- Locate the entry called items.
- Select the drop-down arrow off to the right, and choose Always ask.
Opera
In Opera’s settings, there is a Handlers menu where you can stop websites, like iTunes, from talking to your other programs. You can’t disable just iTunes links, so when you follow these steps to stop iOS links from opening iTunes automatically, you also stop any other protocol handlers, like mailto: links from opening your email program.
- Select the Opera menu from the top-left corner of the program.
- Choose Settings.
- Search for handlers.
- Click Site Settings.
- Scroll down and choose Handlers.
- Disable the setting by clicking the button, making it white instead of blue.
Internet Explorer
Protocol handlers in Internet Explorer are not managed in the browser, but in the Control Panel. But that doesn’t always work, so the best way to make sure you can edit the association between iTunes and Internet Explorer for.itms files is to make a small change in the Windows registry.
- Open Registry Editor by launching the Run dialog box (WIN+R) and entering regedit.
- Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ProtocolExecute\itms.
- Double-click WarnOnOpen from the right pane.
- Change the value to 1.
- Select OK.
FAQs
If you use your iOS devices such as your iPhone or iPad with iTunes on your computer, the app automatically launches whenever these devices are plugged-in to your machine. It is to help sync the contents of your device with your computer.
To stop iTunes from opening automatically when you connect your iPhone, open iTunes and then go to Preferences by using the keyboard shortcut Command-comma or by going to iTunes > Preferences. Next, click the Devices tab and then check the box next to Stop iPods, iPhones, and iPads from automatically syncing.
From your Apple Music app try the following as mentioned in Add music to your queue to play next on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Android device. To turn Autoplay on or off, tap the Autoplay button in the upper-right corner of your screen.