It’d be useful to see the difference clearly as a user. Personally I try really hard not to use any in-app browser because I have no clue how trustworthy the developer is (except for Facebook and Google, for which the answer is “absolutely not”).
I’m not surprised and it’s really annoying apps still use in-app browsers. I remember even Telegram had that at one point, with link opening only on in-app browser(at least on iOS). But what really annoys me is that most of the users, e.g. my girlfriend, have NO IDEA about the difference, it’s just a browsing window, no matter in-app, which engine, with which privacy feature. Perhaps os vendors should show more obvious UI, and UX wise, tell you you’re leaving a safe browsing experience?
Did you just wake up today after reading this article and learned about the existence of in-app browsers? This is a common practice by almost all social media apps.
I'm the opposite, I hate in app browsers as a user. It's like having a bunch of extra poorly made web browsers that can only have one tab, and block me from using one of my apps. When I'm trying to find a tab I had open now I have to search both my browser tabs and every app in my app switcher. And if I want to keep using an app but it's showing an in-app browser I have to either throw away my tab, or navigate a menu to migrate it to my real browser to save for later, then switch back to the app and close the in app browser, and only then can I continue to use the app. It's a constant pain.
it's not the browser itself, it's the experience of staying in app when clicking a link. for example when going through a paygate that redirects to a browser. i don't want to leave the app, then come back in manually. with an in app browser it works seamlessly.
Lol, I always on the lookout for an answer to this as well. I use Browsers vs Mobile Browsers vs Desktop Apps vs Mobile Apps if I want to be precise. But, yeah, it's usually confusing.
I don’t see why the situation for viewing public websites from within apps should differ from the situation on the desktop. People choose which browser they use on the desktop, and live with any difficulties that may or may not bring. (E.g. I’m using Firefox and have few problems.) So the same would be the case for browsers in mobile apps.
There is no reason for in-app browsers to exist besides tracking really, so this isn't all that surprising. The only effect of removing them entirely would be that stuff just worked better in general.
I tried it on my Android phone a while ago, and my (unscientific) conclusions are that it's slower, more resource intensive, and drains the battery faster than using the default Chrome browser.
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