Q. I use the Apple Podcasts app, but the episodes never stick around after I play them. If I want to listen again, I have to re-download them. I don’t sync my shows with other devices, either. Does this mean the space is getting tight on my iPhone?

A. The Apple Podcasts app has built-in tools to help you manage your subscriptions and the individual shows you download. The setting that automatically deletes an episode (within 24 hours after it has been fully played) is probably enabled. You can turn off the Podcast app’s default control — or just have it stop deleting recently played episodes from specific podcasts.

If you do not want Apple Podcasts to dump any episodes you have already played, open the Settings icon on your iPhone’s home screen and scroll down until you see Podcasts. Tap Podcasts, and in the Podcast Defaults section, turn off the button next to Delete Played Episodes. If the button was already off, tap the Limit Episodes option above it on the Podcast settings screen and see if the app is set to keep an episode for only a certain amount of time, like a day.

Individual podcasts have their own settings, too. If you have turned off the app’s default control to delete episodes you have already played, you can still make the shows you do not want to save automatically disappear.

To do that, go to the Podcasts app, select a show from your My Podcasts list and tap the gear-shaped settings icon under the show’s title. Here, you can change the automatic-deletion settings for this show as well as other preferences, like your notifications for new episodes.

If you are concerned that your phone might be getting too full, check your current storage space. Open the Settings app from the home screen, select General and then Storage & iCloud Usage. On the next screen, under Storage, tap Manage Storage to see your available space — and a list of the apps using up the rest of your phone’s drive.

How to choose a go-to browser

Q. How do I change the browser that opens when I click my desktop shortcut bookmark icons? I want them to open in Google Chrome.

A. The steps vary based on your operating system. To select Google Chrome as your default on a Windows 7 or Windows 8 computer, go to the Start menu and choose Control Panel. Select Programs, Default Programs and then “Set your default programs.” Select Google Chrome on the left side of the screen, click “Set this program as default” and click OK.

If you have a Windows 10 PC running the most recent version of the operating system, open the Start menu and click the gear-shaped Settings icon. In the Settings box, choose Apps and then Default Apps. Scroll to the bottom of the box, to Web browser, and click the Microsoft Edge icon (or whichever app is your current default browser). In the “Choose an app” area, select Google Chrome.

On a Mac, open the Chrome browser and click the three-dot More menu icon on the top-right corner of the window. On the menu, choose Settings. Scroll down the Settings screen until you get to the Default Brower section and turn on the check box next to “Make Google Chrome the default browser.”

Many browsers — including Apple Safari and Mozilla Firefox — include a “make me the default program” button in their settings. Once you select it, the system opens that browser when you click links in messages or open desktop bookmark shortcuts. You can usually find this button on the General tab of the browser’s options or preferences screen.

_ New York Times News Service