diff --git a/src/boot/store.js b/src/boot/store.js
index ccbc6f0ffe0..69ded1cf663 100644
--- a/src/boot/store.js
+++ b/src/boot/store.js
@@ -283,6 +283,14 @@ const migrations: {| [string]: (GlobalState) => GlobalState |} = {
     accounts: state.accounts.filter(a => a.email !== ''),
   }),
 
+  '28': state => ({
+    ...state,
+    settings: {
+      ...state.settings,
+      browser: 'default',
+    },
+  }),
+
   // TIP: When adding a migration, consider just using `dropCache`.
 };
 
diff --git a/src/common/Icons.js b/src/common/Icons.js
index 5941a686a03..aabee1b1102 100644
--- a/src/common/Icons.js
+++ b/src/common/Icons.js
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ const makeIcon = <Glyphs: string>(
   return <FixedIcon name={name} {...props} />;
 };
 
+export const IconBrowser = makeIcon(Feather, 'chrome');
 export const IconInbox = makeIcon(Feather, 'inbox');
 export const IconMention = makeIcon(Feather, 'at-sign');
 export const IconSearch = makeIcon(Feather, 'search');
diff --git a/src/common/WebLink.js b/src/common/WebLink.js
index 951046910e3..f1e0589f2d6 100644
--- a/src/common/WebLink.js
+++ b/src/common/WebLink.js
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 import React from 'react';
 
 import Label from './Label';
-import openLink from '../utils/openLink';
+import { openLinkEmbedded } from '../utils/openLink';
 import { BRAND_COLOR, createStyleSheet } from '../styles';
 
 type Props = $ReadOnly<{|
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ export default function WebLink(props: Props) {
       style={componentStyles.link}
       text={props.label}
       onPress={() => {
-        openLink(props.url.toString());
+        openLinkEmbedded(props.url.toString());
       }}
     />
   );
diff --git a/src/lightbox/LightboxActionSheet.js b/src/lightbox/LightboxActionSheet.js
index b1fb4a2710d..1d4252abe67 100644
--- a/src/lightbox/LightboxActionSheet.js
+++ b/src/lightbox/LightboxActionSheet.js
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import share from './share';
 import shareImage from './shareImage';
 import { showToast } from '../utils/info';
 import * as api from '../api';
-import openLink from '../utils/openLink';
+import { openLinkEmbedded } from '../utils/openLink';
 
 type DownloadImageType = {|
   src: string,
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ const tryToDownloadImage = async ({ src, auth }: DownloadImageType) => {
   const tempUrl = await api.tryGetFileTemporaryUrl(src, auth);
   if (tempUrl === null) {
     showToast('Please download the image from your browser');
-    openLink(new URL(src, auth.realm).toString());
+    openLinkEmbedded(new URL(src, auth.realm).toString());
     return;
   }
 
diff --git a/src/lightbox/shareImage.js b/src/lightbox/shareImage.js
index a0587363739..3a1c735f4f2 100644
--- a/src/lightbox/shareImage.js
+++ b/src/lightbox/shareImage.js
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import type { Auth } from '../types';
 import ShareFileAndroid from '../nativeModules/ShareFileAndroid';
 import { showToast } from '../utils/info';
 import * as api from '../api';
-import openLink from '../utils/openLink';
+import { openLinkEmbedded } from '../utils/openLink';
 import * as logging from '../utils/logging';
 
 export default async (url: string, auth: Auth) => {
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ export default async (url: string, auth: Auth) => {
 
   if (tempUrl === null) {
     showToast('Please share the image from your browser');
-    openLink(new URL(url, auth.realm).toString());
+    openLinkEmbedded(new URL(url, auth.realm).toString());
     return;
   }
 
diff --git a/src/message/messagesActions.js b/src/message/messagesActions.js
index 5012e875ec7..7daaf5f0783 100644
--- a/src/message/messagesActions.js
+++ b/src/message/messagesActions.js
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import * as NavigationService from '../nav/NavigationService';
 import type { Narrow, Dispatch, GetState } from '../types';
 import { getAuth } from '../selectors';
 import { getMessageIdFromLink, getNarrowFromLink } from '../utils/internalLinks';
-import openLink from '../utils/openLink';
+import { openLinkWithUserPreference } from '../utils/openLink';
 import { navigateToChat } from '../nav/navActions';
 import { FIRST_UNREAD_ANCHOR } from '../anchor';
 import { getStreamsById } from '../subscriptions/subscriptionSelectors';
@@ -35,10 +35,10 @@ export const messageLinkPress = (href: string) => async (
     const anchor = getMessageIdFromLink(href, auth.realm);
     dispatch(doNarrow(narrow, anchor));
   } else if (!isUrlOnRealm(href, auth.realm)) {
-    openLink(href);
+    openLinkWithUserPreference(href, getState);
   } else {
     const url =
       (await api.tryGetFileTemporaryUrl(href, auth)) ?? new URL(href, auth.realm).toString();
-    openLink(url);
+    openLinkWithUserPreference(url, getState);
   }
 };
diff --git a/src/reduxTypes.js b/src/reduxTypes.js
index a73b106a048..7ce5f0f87c6 100644
--- a/src/reduxTypes.js
+++ b/src/reduxTypes.js
@@ -263,6 +263,21 @@ export type RealmState = {|
 // https://github.com/zulip/zulip-mobile/issues/4009#issuecomment-619280681.
 export type ThemeName = 'default' | 'night';
 
+/**
+ * The values for this mean:
+ *
+ * * embedded: The in-app browser
+ * * external: The user's default browser app
+ * * default: 'external' on iOS, 'embedded' on Android
+ *
+ * Use the `shouldUseInAppBrowser` function from src/utils/openLink.js in order to
+ * parse this.
+ *
+ * See https://chat.zulip.org/#narrow/stream/48-mobile/topic/in-app.20browser
+ * for the reasoning behind these options.
+ */
+export type BrowserPreference = 'embedded' | 'external' | 'default';
+
 export type SettingsState = {|
   locale: string,
   theme: ThemeName,
@@ -270,6 +285,7 @@ export type SettingsState = {|
   onlineNotification: boolean,
   experimentalFeaturesEnabled: boolean,
   streamNotification: boolean,
+  browser: BrowserPreference,
 |};
 
 export type StreamsState = Stream[];
diff --git a/src/settings/LegalScreen.js b/src/settings/LegalScreen.js
index d9ec31aa00b..76a176ac6a5 100644
--- a/src/settings/LegalScreen.js
+++ b/src/settings/LegalScreen.js
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import type { AppNavigationProp } from '../nav/AppNavigator';
 import type { Dispatch } from '../types';
 import { connect } from '../react-redux';
 import { Screen, OptionButton } from '../common';
-import openLink from '../utils/openLink';
+import { openLinkEmbedded } from '../utils/openLink';
 import { getCurrentRealm } from '../selectors';
 
 type Props = $ReadOnly<{|
@@ -21,12 +21,12 @@ type Props = $ReadOnly<{|
 class LegalScreen extends PureComponent<Props> {
   openTermsOfService = () => {
     const { realm } = this.props;
-    openLink(new URL('/terms/?nav=no', realm).toString());
+    openLinkEmbedded(new URL('/terms/?nav=no', realm).toString());
   };
 
   openPrivacyPolicy = () => {
     const { realm } = this.props;
-    openLink(new URL('/privacy/?nav=no', realm).toString());
+    openLinkEmbedded(new URL('/privacy/?nav=no', realm).toString());
   };
 
   render() {
diff --git a/src/settings/SettingsScreen.js b/src/settings/SettingsScreen.js
index 6c5f7bf49ac..ac441322d4d 100644
--- a/src/settings/SettingsScreen.js
+++ b/src/settings/SettingsScreen.js
@@ -6,12 +6,13 @@ import { ScrollView } from 'react-native';
 import type { RouteProp } from '../react-navigation';
 import type { MainTabsNavigationProp } from '../main/MainTabsScreen';
 import * as NavigationService from '../nav/NavigationService';
-import type { Dispatch } from '../types';
+import type { Dispatch, BrowserPreference } from '../types';
 import { createStyleSheet } from '../styles';
 import { connect } from '../react-redux';
 import { getSettings } from '../selectors';
 import { OptionButton, OptionRow } from '../common';
 import {
+  IconBrowser,
   IconDiagnostics,
   IconNotifications,
   IconNight,
@@ -25,6 +26,7 @@ import {
   navigateToDiagnostics,
   navigateToLegal,
 } from '../actions';
+import { shouldUseInAppBrowser } from '../utils/openLink';
 
 const styles = createStyleSheet({
   optionWrapper: {
@@ -37,6 +39,7 @@ type Props = $ReadOnly<{|
   route: RouteProp<'settings', void>,
 
   theme: string,
+  browser: BrowserPreference,
   dispatch: Dispatch,
 |}>;
 
@@ -47,7 +50,7 @@ class SettingsScreen extends PureComponent<Props> {
   };
 
   render() {
-    const { theme } = this.props;
+    const { dispatch, theme, browser } = this.props;
 
     return (
       <ScrollView style={styles.optionWrapper}>
@@ -57,6 +60,14 @@ class SettingsScreen extends PureComponent<Props> {
           value={theme === 'night'}
           onValueChange={this.handleThemeChange}
         />
+        <OptionRow
+          Icon={IconBrowser}
+          label="Open links with in-app browser"
+          value={shouldUseInAppBrowser(browser)}
+          onValueChange={value => {
+            dispatch(settingsChange({ browser: value ? 'embedded' : 'external' }));
+          }}
+        />
         <OptionButton
           Icon={IconNotifications}
           label="Notifications"
@@ -92,4 +103,5 @@ class SettingsScreen extends PureComponent<Props> {
 
 export default connect(state => ({
   theme: getSettings(state).theme,
+  browser: getSettings(state).browser,
 }))(SettingsScreen);
diff --git a/src/settings/settingsReducer.js b/src/settings/settingsReducer.js
index 6e51ab66cec..0b292659310 100644
--- a/src/settings/settingsReducer.js
+++ b/src/settings/settingsReducer.js
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ const initialState: SettingsState = {
   onlineNotification: true,
   experimentalFeaturesEnabled: false,
   streamNotification: false,
+  browser: 'default',
 };
 
 export default (state: SettingsState = initialState, action: Action): SettingsState => {
diff --git a/src/start/AuthScreen.js b/src/start/AuthScreen.js
index 2e99d21c0ec..eb55689ba70 100644
--- a/src/start/AuthScreen.js
+++ b/src/start/AuthScreen.js
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ import { encodeParamsForUrl } from '../utils/url';
 import * as webAuth from './webAuth';
 import { loginSuccess, navigateToDevAuth, navigateToPasswordAuth } from '../actions';
 import IosCompliantAppleAuthButton from './IosCompliantAppleAuthButton';
-import openLink from '../utils/openLink';
+import { openLinkEmbedded } from '../utils/openLink';
 
 /**
  * Describes a method for authenticating to the server.
@@ -270,7 +270,7 @@ class AuthScreen extends PureComponent<Props> {
       id_token: credential.identityToken,
     });
 
-    openLink(new URL(`/complete/apple/?${params}`, this.props.realm).toString());
+    openLinkEmbedded(new URL(`/complete/apple/?${params}`, this.props.realm).toString());
 
     // Currently, the rest is handled with the `zulip://` redirect,
     // same as in the web flow.
diff --git a/src/start/CompatibilityScreen.js b/src/start/CompatibilityScreen.js
index ebb6aa7edae..8395e1ade00 100644
--- a/src/start/CompatibilityScreen.js
+++ b/src/start/CompatibilityScreen.js
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 /* @flow strict-local */
 import React, { PureComponent } from 'react';
-import { Image, Text, View, Platform, Linking } from 'react-native';
+import { Image, Text, View, Platform } from 'react-native';
 
+import { openLinkExternal } from '../utils/openLink';
 import { Touchable } from '../common';
 import { BRAND_COLOR, createStyleSheet } from '../styles';
 import appStoreBadgePNG from '../../static/img/app-store-badge.png';
@@ -51,7 +52,7 @@ export default class CompatibilityScreen extends PureComponent<{||}> {
       : 'https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zulipmobile';
 
   openStoreURL = () => {
-    Linking.openURL(this.storeURL);
+    openLinkExternal(this.storeURL);
   };
 
   render() {
diff --git a/src/start/webAuth.js b/src/start/webAuth.js
index d818708675b..c308f6c3521 100644
--- a/src/start/webAuth.js
+++ b/src/start/webAuth.js
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import { NativeModules, Platform } from 'react-native';
 import SafariView from 'react-native-safari-view';
 
 import type { Auth } from '../types';
-import openLink from '../utils/openLink';
+import { openLinkEmbedded } from '../utils/openLink';
 import { tryParseUrl } from '../utils/url';
 import { base64ToHex, hexToAscii, xorHexStrings } from '../utils/encoding';
 
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ export const generateRandomToken = async (): Promise<string> => {
 export const generateOtp = async (): Promise<string> => generateRandomToken();
 
 export const openBrowser = (url: string, otp: string) => {
-  openLink(`${url}?mobile_flow_otp=${otp}`);
+  openLinkEmbedded(`${url}?mobile_flow_otp=${otp}`);
 };
 
 export const closeBrowser = () => {
diff --git a/src/utils/openLink.js b/src/utils/openLink.js
index ee9144dbd03..544ab09a93b 100644
--- a/src/utils/openLink.js
+++ b/src/utils/openLink.js
@@ -1,11 +1,38 @@
 /* @flow strict-local */
-import { NativeModules, Platform } from 'react-native';
+import { NativeModules, Platform, Linking } from 'react-native';
 import SafariView from 'react-native-safari-view';
 
-export default (url: string): void => {
+import type { BrowserPreference, GetState } from '../types';
+import { getSettings } from '../selectors';
+
+export function openLinkEmbedded(url: string): void {
   if (Platform.OS === 'ios') {
     SafariView.show({ url: encodeURI(url) });
   } else {
     NativeModules.CustomTabsAndroid.openURL(url);
   }
-};
+}
+
+export function openLinkExternal(url: string): void {
+  Linking.openURL(url);
+}
+
+export function shouldUseInAppBrowser(browser: BrowserPreference): boolean {
+  if (browser === 'default') {
+    return Platform.OS === 'android';
+  } else {
+    return browser === 'embedded';
+  }
+}
+
+// TODO: We may want to turn this into a thunk action creator.
+// See https://github.com/zulip/zulip-mobile/pull/4679#discussion_r625991786
+export function openLinkWithUserPreference(url: string, getState: GetState): void {
+  const state = getState();
+  const browser = getSettings(state).browser;
+  if (shouldUseInAppBrowser(browser)) {
+    openLinkEmbedded(url);
+  } else {
+    openLinkExternal(url);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/static/translations/messages_en.json b/static/translations/messages_en.json
index 334bf1d9319..9738a7b70ea 100644
--- a/static/translations/messages_en.json
+++ b/static/translations/messages_en.json
@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@
   "No Internet connection": "No Internet connection",
   "Settings": "Settings",
   "Night mode": "Night mode",
+  "Open links with in-app browser": "Open links with in-app browser",
   "Language": "Language",
   "Arabic": "Arabic",
   "Bokmål": "Bokmål",