When you are building an app on Bubble.io, the little things matter. You carefully design workflows, test interactions, and double-check how your app behaves across different devices. Everything feels consistent until you run into a puzzling situation. You add a workflow that should open a page in a new tab. It works exactly as expected on your laptop. But when you test the same thing on an iPhone, the result is completely different. Instead of opening in a new tab, the app either reloads in the same one or nothing happens at all.
For many developers, this feels like a frustrating bug. You retrace your steps and wonder if you missed a setting. In reality, your workflow is correct. What you are running into is not a Bubble-specific flaw but a well-known limitation in how iOS browsers handle user-triggered events. To understand what is happening, we need to unpack the difference between how Bubble executes navigation actions and how iPhones enforce rules about opening new tabs.
This guide will walk you through the mechanics of the issue, explain why iOS makes different decisions compared to desktop browsers, and share practical approaches that Bubble developers use to design experiences that actually work for mobile users. By the end, you will have a clear picture of what is going on and a toolkit for making the right design choices.
Why Bubble Developers Expect “Open in New Tab” to Just Work
On desktop browsers, the logic is straightforward. Bubble lets you create workflows that include navigation actions. One of those is ‘open external website in new tab’ or ‘open page in new tab.’ Behind the scenes, Bubble.io uses JavaScript commands like window.open() that most desktop browsers happily execute.
So when you click a button on your Bubble app in Chrome or Safari on your computer, a new tab opens without hesitation. Developers naturally expect the same behavior to hold true everywhere, because Bubble promises a consistent no code experience across devices. The confusion begins when mobile Safari or Chrome on iOS refuses to play along.
Why New Tabs Are Restricted
The key to understanding this lies in how Apple designed iOS Safari. Mobile browsers on iPhones enforce stricter rules about what counts as a legitimate tab opening event. Apple’s philosophy is that any action that results in a new window or tab must be clearly initiated by the user. This is meant to prevent spammy sites from flooding your phone with pop-ups.
Desktop browsers also have pop-up blockers, but they are far more permissive. If a script runs window.open() as part of a workflow tied to a button click, most desktop browsers treat that as a user-approved action. Mobile Safari takes a narrower view. Unless the tap on your iPhone screen is directly tied to opening the new tab, iOS often blocks the attempt.
In other words, Bubble is firing the right command, but iOS decides not to honor it. From the perspective of the phone, the action feels too indirect. The result is either nothing happens, or the same tab reloads instead of spawning a fresh one.
Why It Feels Random the First Time You See It
If you are new to Bubble and test your workflows mostly on a desktop, encountering this on an iPhone feels like a random glitch. Sometimes a tab does open. Other times, it stubbornly does not. This inconsistency is not actually random. It depends on the exact chain of events leading to the workflow.
For example, if your workflow involves conditions or delays, the timing can make iOS classify the action as script-driven rather than tap-driven. When that happens, the phone refuses to open a new tab. That is why you can swear you did everything the same way, but the results vary.
The Difference Between In-App Browsers and Mobile Safari
The mystery deepens when you test your app inside an in-app browser, such as when your Bubble app is opened from inside Facebook or Instagram. Sometimes new tabs work there, sometimes they do not. The reason is that in-app browsers are essentially web views layered on top of the app. They use Safari’s engine, but with slightly different permission rules.
So your Bubble workflow might succeed in Facebook’s in-app browser but fail in regular Safari. To an end user, this makes it look like your app is unreliable. To a developer, it is a clear sign that iOS policies, not Bubble, are in control.
What This Means for Bubble Developers
At this point, the key lesson is that ‘open in a new tab’ is not something you can fully control on iPhones. You can set up the correct Bubble workflow, but iOS may block it depending on timing, context, and browser type. Once you accept that, the design question shifts. Should you continue trying to force new tabs, or should you design your app so that it does not rely on them?
Rethinking the Need for New Tabs on Mobile
It helps to step back and consider why you want a new tab in the first place. On desktops, opening a new tab preserves the user’s original session while letting them explore something else. On mobile, however, tabbed browsing is less convenient. Users are accustomed to single-page navigation and often prefer not to juggle multiple tabs.
This means that even if Apple allowed Bubble to open new tabs freely, the user experience might not be ideal. Instead of fighting iOS restrictions, many developers rethink their app flow to work within a single tab.
Practical Alternatives You Can Use
One approach is to use Bubble’s internal navigation to bring users back easily, rather than pushing them to a new tab. For example, you can create a workflow that opens a page in the same tab but provides a clear ‘Back’ button or breadcrumb navigation. Another option is to use modals or pop-ups to show additional content without leaving the main page.
In cases where you truly need an external link, you can encourage users to long-press and manually open the link in a new tab. While not as seamless as a desktop experience, this aligns with how iPhone users are already trained to handle links.
When New Tabs Do Work on iPhone
There are edge cases where new tabs open as expected. If you use a direct anchor link with target=’_blank’ coded into the page, Safari usually honors it because it is tightly tied to the tap gesture. Bubble’s workflow system abstracts this away, so sometimes the iPhone decides it is too indirect.
Understanding this distinction gives you one more tool. For critical external links, you can embed them directly in your design as standard links rather than Bubble workflow actions. This ensures Safari treats them as genuine tap-initiated events.
Designing a Mobile-Friendly Experience
At the end of the day, Bubble developers want apps that feel smooth and intuitive. If that feels overwhelming or too technical, you don’t have to solve it alone. Many teams choose to hire a Bubble certified agency or experienced freelancers who specialize in optimizing apps for cross-device performance.
A certified agency has already worked through these quirks countless times and can help you avoid design patterns that break on iOS. Freelancers with a proven track record can also be a good choice if you just need targeted fixes instead of a long-term partner.
Avoiding Common Pitfalls
One mistake new developers make is assuming that if something works on their desktop, it will automatically work the same way on mobile. Another is relying too heavily on test conditions inside desktop browsers without ever running through the same steps on an actual iPhone.
To avoid these pitfalls, make mobile testing a regular part of your development process. Do not wait until launch to discover that your carefully crafted tab logic behaves differently. Regular testing helps you catch inconsistencies early and rethink your design before it frustrates end users.
Looking Ahead…
Some developers hope that future versions of iOS might loosen these restrictions. While Apple occasionally adjusts how Safari handles pop-ups, the overall philosophy has been consistent. Apple prioritizes user control and minimal disruption. That means automatic or indirect tab openings will likely remain limited.
For Bubble users, this is a reminder that you are building inside the rules of each platform. Bubble can abstract a lot of coding complexity, but it cannot override how Apple chooses to implement security and browsing behavior.
The Bottom Line
If you find yourself puzzled by Bubble workflows that fail to open new tabs on iPhones, know that you are not alone. The issue is not with your setup. It is the result of how iOS treats navigation events.
By understanding the mechanics behind the problem, recognizing when new tabs actually do work, and leaning on alternatives like single-page navigation or direct links, you can create an app that works smoothly for your users on any device. Instead of chasing down what feels like a bug, you will be equipped with practical strategies that make your app feel polished and reliable.