diff --git a/frontend/src/components/Explainer.tsx b/frontend/src/components/Explainer.tsx
index 3a34c6d2..4a42b2d3 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/Explainer.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/Explainer.tsx
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { ArrowRight, BotIcon, LockIcon, MinusIcon, ServerIcon, SmartphoneIcon }
 import { useEffect, useState } from "react";
 import { Loader2, CheckCircle, XCircle } from "lucide-react";
 import { useOpenSecret } from "@opensecret/react";
+import { openExternalLink } from "@/utils/externalLinks";
 
 function ArrowAndLock() {
   return (
@@ -90,14 +91,13 @@ export function InfoContent() {
       </div>
       <div className="w-full pt-4 flex gap-4 items-center justify-between">
         <VerificationStatus />
-        <a
-          href="https://blog.trymaple.ai"
+        <button
+          onClick={() => openExternalLink("https://blog.trymaple.ai")}
+          role="link"
           className="text-center hover:underline font-medium text-sm"
-          target="_blank"
-          rel="noopener noreferrer"
         >
           Learn more
-        </a>
+        </button>
       </div>
     </>
   );
diff --git a/frontend/src/components/SimplifiedFooter.tsx b/frontend/src/components/SimplifiedFooter.tsx
index 6b4e0df7..cf7c1bc1 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/SimplifiedFooter.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/components/SimplifiedFooter.tsx
@@ -1,17 +1,18 @@
+import { openExternalLink } from "@/utils/externalLinks";
+
 export function SimplifiedFooter() {
   return (
     <div className="w-full border-t border-[hsl(var(--marketing-card-border))] py-6 mt-auto">
       <div className="max-w-[45rem] mx-auto px-4 text-center">
         <p className="text-[hsl(var(--marketing-text-muted))]/70 text-sm">
           © {new Date().getFullYear()} Maple AI. All rights reserved. Powered by{" "}
-          <a
-            href="https://opensecret.cloud"
-            target="_blank"
-            rel="noopener noreferrer"
-            className="text-[hsl(var(--purple))] hover:text-[hsl(var(--purple))]/80 dark:text-[hsl(var(--blue))] dark:hover:text-[hsl(var(--blue))]/80 transition-colors"
+          <button
+            onClick={() => openExternalLink("https://opensecret.cloud")}
+            role="link"
+            className="text-[hsl(var(--purple))] hover:text-[hsl(var(--purple))]/80 dark:text-[hsl(var(--blue))] dark:hover:text-[hsl(var(--blue))]/80 transition-colors underline"
           >
             OpenSecret
-          </a>
+          </button>
         </p>
         <div className="flex justify-center gap-6 mt-2">
           <a
@@ -20,22 +21,20 @@ export function SimplifiedFooter() {
           >
             Downloads
           </a>
-          <a
-            href="https://opensecret.cloud/terms"
-            target="_blank"
-            rel="noopener noreferrer"
+          <button
+            onClick={() => openExternalLink("https://opensecret.cloud/terms")}
+            role="link"
             className="text-[hsl(var(--marketing-text-muted))] hover:text-foreground text-sm transition-colors"
           >
             Terms of Service
-          </a>
-          <a
-            href="https://opensecret.cloud/privacy"
-            target="_blank"
-            rel="noopener noreferrer"
+          </button>
+          <button
+            onClick={() => openExternalLink("https://opensecret.cloud/privacy")}
+            role="link"
             className="text-[hsl(var(--marketing-text-muted))] hover:text-foreground text-sm transition-colors"
           >
             Privacy Policy
-          </a>
+          </button>
         </div>
       </div>
     </div>
diff --git a/frontend/src/utils/externalLinks.ts b/frontend/src/utils/externalLinks.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e4863b4a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/src/utils/externalLinks.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+/**
+ * Opens an external URL using the Tauri opener plugin when running on iOS in a Tauri environment,
+ * with fallback to window.open for web environments and other platforms.
+ *
+ * @param url - The external URL to open
+ */
+export const openExternalLink = async (url: string): Promise<void> => {
+  try {
+    // Check if we're in a Tauri environment first
+    const { isTauri } = await import("@tauri-apps/api/core");
+    const tauriEnv = await isTauri();
+
+    if (tauriEnv) {
+      // Check if we're on iOS
+      const { type } = await import("@tauri-apps/plugin-os");
+      const platform = await type();
+
+      if (platform === "ios") {
+        // Use Tauri opener plugin for iOS
+        const { invoke } = await import("@tauri-apps/api/core");
+        await invoke("plugin:opener|open_url", { url });
+        return;
+      }
+    }
+
+    // Fallback for non-iOS or non-Tauri environments
+    window.open(url, "_blank", "noopener,noreferrer");
+  } catch (error) {
+    // Final fallback if everything fails
+    console.warn("Failed to open URL with Tauri opener, falling back to window.open:", error);
+    try {
+      window.open(url, "_blank", "noopener,noreferrer");
+    } catch (windowError) {
+      console.error("Failed to open URL with window.open:", windowError);
+    }
+  }
+};