How to Change the Default Download Location in Popular Browsers

Have you ever downloaded a file and had no idea where your computer stored it? Or did you have to endlessly scroll through your browser history, so you can re-download the file?

To prevent this from happening again, you should change your browser’s default download location. In this article, we’ll show you how you can do it for the most popular browsers.

How to Change Google Chrome’s Default Download Location

We’ll start with Chrome, as it’s one of the most popular browsers, so it’s a fair chance it’s your default browser.

By default, Chrome will save anything that you download online into your Downloads file. But if you need to access the files faster, you can change the default location.

1. From the top-right corner, click the three-dot menu and select Settings.
2. Go to Downloads.
3. Click the Change button and select a new download destination.

If you want Google Chrome to ask where it should download the file every time, select the Ask where to save each file before downloading option.

How to Change Mozilla Firefox’s Default Download Location

If Firefox is your default browser, here’s how you can change the default download location:

1. Open the browser’s menu and click Settings.
2. From the left pane, select General and scroll down to Files and Applications.
3. Click Browse next to Save files to and select where Firefox should download your files.

If you want to specify the download location every time, select Always ask you where to save files. If you need more help managing your downloads, there are a few download manager add-ons you can try.

How to Change Microsoft Edge’s Default Download Location

Microsoft Edge has come a long way and offers its users plenty of reasons to set it as their default browser, including a feature that allows you to share files and notes between your mobile and desktop devices.

If you want to keep a close eye on your downloads, follow these steps to change the default location:

1. Navigate to edge://settings.
2. From the left-hand menu, select Downloads.
3. Click the Change button and select a new download location.

As you can see, Edge has more settings that you should enable to better manage your downloaded files.

How to Change Brave Browser’s Default Download Location

Brave has quickly gained popularity due to its mission of protecting your privacy by blocking all privacy-invading ads & trackers. So, if you want to use it permanently, you should change its downloads related settings.

1. Go to brave://settings.
2. Scroll down on the left-hand menu and select Downloads.
3. Click Change and set a new download location.

You can also decide where to save the file every time by enabling the Ask where to save each file before downloading option. If you want to check your downloaded files, click Downloads from the browser’s ribbon.

How to Change Safari’s Default Download Location

If you own an Apple device, chances are your default browser is Safari. If you want to change the browser’s default download location, go through the below steps:

1. From the menu bar, click Safari.
2. Go to Preferences > General.
3. Open the drop-down menu next to File download location.
4. Click Other and set a new location. Additionally, you can set the download location for every file using the Ask for each download option.

How to Change Opera’s Default Download Location

If you’re running out of space on your primary drive, you can change Opera’s download location to avoid any future problems. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Click the Settings icon.
2. Scroll down and open the Advanced menu.
3. Head to Downloads and click Change.
4. Select a new download location.

How to Change Vivaldi’s Default Download Location

A lot of people prefer Vivaldi to other Chrome alternatives because it’s one of the fastest available browsers. If you want to improve its productivity, you should change the default download location.

1. Click Settings from the bottom-left corner.
2. Select Downloads.
3. Click Select Folder from Download Location and browse to the new location.

If you want to speed up the downloading process while using Vivaldi, select the Save Files in Default Location Without Asking option.

Easily Change Your Browser’s Download Location

Now you know where you can find every file that you’ve downloaded using your browser. Many of the mentioned browsers have enough built-in features to help you keep track of your files, but you can always install a browser add-on to manage your browser downloads.

Before clicking any suspicious link to download a file, you should check if it’s safe, so you’ll protect yourself from ransomware.