How to remove/ignore :hover css style on touch devices

2020 Solution - CSS only - No Javascript

Use media hover with media pointer will help you resolve this issue. Tested on chrome Web and android mobile. I known this old question but I didn't find any solution like this.

@media (hover: hover) and (pointer: fine) {
  a:hover { color: red; }
}

<a href="#" >Some Link</a>

According to Jason´s answer we can address only devices that doesn't support hover with pure css media queries. We can also address only devices that support hover, like moogal´s answer in a similar question, with @media not all and (hover: none). It looks weird but it works.

I made a Sass mixin out of this for easier use:

@mixin hover-supported {
    @media not all and (hover: none) {
        &:hover {
            @content;
        }
    }
}

Update 2019-05-15: I recommend this article from Medium that goes through all different devices that we can target with CSS. Basically it's a mix of these media rules, combine them for specific targets:

@media (hover: hover) {
    /* Device that can hover (desktops) */
}
@media (hover: none) {
    /* Device that can not hover with ease */
}
@media (pointer: coarse) {
    /* Device with limited pointing accuracy (touch) */
}
@media (pointer: fine) {
    /* Device with accurate pointing (desktop, stylus-based) */
}
@media (pointer: none) {
    /* Device with no pointing */
}

Example for specific targets:

@media (hover: none) and (pointer: coarse) {
    /* Smartphones and touchscreens */
}

@media (hover: hover) and (pointer: fine) {
    /* Desktops with mouse */
}

I love mixins, this is how I use my hover mixin to only target devices that supports it:

@mixin on-hover {
    @media (hover: hover) and (pointer: fine) {
        &:hover {
            @content;
        }
    }
}

button {
    @include on-hover {
        color: blue;
    }
}

tl;dr use this: https://jsfiddle.net/57tmy8j3/

If you're interested why or what other options there are, read on.

Quick'n'dirty - remove :hover styles using JS

You can remove all the CSS rules containing :hover using Javascript. This has the advantage of not having to touch CSS and being compatible even with older browsers.

function hasTouch() {
  return 'ontouchstart' in document.documentElement
         || navigator.maxTouchPoints > 0
         || navigator.msMaxTouchPoints > 0;
}

if (hasTouch()) { // remove all the :hover stylesheets
  try { // prevent exception on browsers not supporting DOM styleSheets properly
    for (var si in document.styleSheets) {
      var styleSheet = document.styleSheets[si];
      if (!styleSheet.rules) continue;

      for (var ri = styleSheet.rules.length - 1; ri >= 0; ri--) {
        if (!styleSheet.rules[ri].selectorText) continue;

        if (styleSheet.rules[ri].selectorText.match(':hover')) {
          styleSheet.deleteRule(ri);
        }
      }
    }
  } catch (ex) {}
}

Limitations: stylesheets must be hosted on the same domain (that means no CDNs). Disables hovers on mixed mouse & touch devices like Surface or iPad Pro, which hurts the UX.

CSS-only - use media queries

Place all your :hover rules in a @media block:

@media (hover: hover) {
  a:hover { color: blue; }
}

or alternatively, override all your hover rules (compatible with older browsers):

a:hover { color: blue; }

@media (hover: none) {
  a:hover { color: inherit; }
}

Limitations: works only on iOS 9.0+, Chrome for Android or Android 5.0+ when using WebView. hover: hover breaks hover effects on older browsers, hover: none needs overriding all the previously defined CSS rules. Both are incompatible with mixed mouse & touch devices.

The most robust - detect touch via JS and prepend CSS :hover rules

This method needs prepending all the hover rules with body.hasHover. (or a class name of your choice)

body.hasHover a:hover { color: blue; }

The hasHover class may be added using hasTouch() from the first example:

if (!hasTouch()) document.body.className += ' hasHover'

However, this whould have the same drawbacks with mixed touch devices as previous examples, which brings us to the ultimate solution. Enable hover effects whenever a mouse cursor is moved, disable hover effects whenever a touch is detected.

function watchForHover() {
  // lastTouchTime is used for ignoring emulated mousemove events
  let lastTouchTime = 0

  function enableHover() {
    if (new Date() - lastTouchTime < 500) return
    document.body.classList.add('hasHover')
  }

  function disableHover() {
    document.body.classList.remove('hasHover')
  }

  function updateLastTouchTime() {
    lastTouchTime = new Date()
  }

  document.addEventListener('touchstart', updateLastTouchTime, true)
  document.addEventListener('touchstart', disableHover, true)
  document.addEventListener('mousemove', enableHover, true)

  enableHover()
}

watchForHover()

This should work basically in any browser and enables/disables hover styles as needed.

Here's the full example - modern: https://jsfiddle.net/57tmy8j3/
Legacy (for use with old browsers): https://jsfiddle.net/dkz17jc5/19/

Pointer adaptation to the rescue!

Since this hasn't been touched in awhile, you can use:

a:link, a:visited {
   color: red;
}

a:hover {
   color:blue;
}

@media (hover: none) {
   a:link, a:visited {
      color: red;
   }
}

See this demo in both your desktop browser and your phone browser. Supported by modern touch devices.

Note: Keep in mind that since a Surface PC's primary input (capability) is a mouse, it will end up being a blue link, even if it's a detached (tablet) screen. Browsers will (should) always default to the most precise input's capability.