Open links within apps
Android System WebView
is a system component for Android devices, powered by
Google Chrome
. This software
utility
works as a
small version
of Chrome, allowing users to
open links
within their opened apps. It loads the web link as if it was a
part of the app
itself. This app is pre-installed on Android devices. Users are advised to
keep the app installed
, as any app dependent on it will either stop working.
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Providing easy web experience
WebView is a browser rendered inside an app as part of an
activity layout
. With this, you can open a link without the need to open your
web browser
app. You don’t get pushed onto another third-party application whenever you need to load a webpage. Instead, the
in-app browser
—WebView—pulls the content from the web for you.
WebView is particularly helpful when you are browsing through your
social media
app. For instance, if you are swiping up a post on Facebook with a web page link, you don’t have to copy the link and paste it on your browser. With WebView, you will be
redirected
to the page by simply clicking the link.
Furthermore, the
mini browser
provided by the WebView
has all the features
of a full-blown browser, including text search, content scaling, and scrolling. WebView not only saves time but also
hardware resources
that would otherwise be wasted in separately launching a web browser application. In turn, it will also
save battery life
.
Tool for developers
In addition to providing easy web experience to Android users, Android System WebView also helps in
software development
. With the app, Android 7.0+ developers can provide their apps the capability to
open and interact
with web content inside the program themselves. Creators will only need to enable the
WebView library
and create an instance of the WebView class. Then, they will need to add the
web permissions
and
WebView code
to the Android Declaration file.
These actions will ensure the
integration
of browser capabilities into the software created. It will also allow the
rendering of web pages
and
JS codes
. As mentioned, Android System WebView is almost always
pre-installed
in any Android device that runs on Marshmallow (Android 6) or lower. Android 7 (Nougat) devices, on the other hand, do not need it since apps that have capabilities to process external links now use the help of rendering engines provided by separate web browsers.
If you are running Android 7 or higher, you can still install the app, though. It's only advisable to
install it manually
if you have a device released in 2015 or later. Otherwise, you may fall victim to hackers who use the tiniest of flaws in code to gain access to your device's memory. This app can be quite
resource-intensive
. It consumes a significant amount for RAM share and
affects the overall OS performance
. Updates take too much time—sometimes reaching an hour or more—and this requires frequent updates.
Helpful with a little drawback
Android System WebView is a system program that provides
faster and easier
web experience—without which, opening external links within an app will be so much hassle. It comes pre-installed and runs without user interaction. However, it requires frequent
updates
to avoid hackers from exploiting any vulnerabilities.