What Is Android System WebView, and Is It Safe to Uninstall?

Android System WebView is a feature that lets apps that run on the Android operating system show content from the internet without having to open a web browser. Since it’s part of the Android OS and apps use it for a specific purpose, there’s no reason to worry about it running on your phone. You can turn off Android System WebView if you want to, but some apps won’t work right if you do.

What is WebView on the Android system?

Android System WebView is a part of Android that gets and shows content from the internet without opening a separate browser. At first, it was built into Android as part of the OS, but users didn’t know about it. It became a separate app in Android 5, so you can find it in your list of apps.

Since Android System WebView is an app and can be found in your list of apps, you can use it just like any other app. You can turn it off, force it to stop, clear its storage and cache, and check how much data it has used. Like other apps, it can also be updated through Google Play.

Also Read: How to Play Fortnite on Iphone

How Does Android System WebView Work?

Android System WebView is a part of the Android OS that lets apps get content from the internet and show it without having to open a separate web browser. When an app developer wants to show content from the internet, like a website, they have three options: display the content directly in the app using WebView, open the content in Chrome using the Custom Tabs feature, or open a web browser like Chrome and load the content there.

WebView is better than the other options because it gives the developer the tools to have a stripped-down version of Chromium right in their app, which makes the experience look more integrated and smooth. The downside is that it doesn’t have all the features of a real browser like Chrome, and it doesn’t share things like login information and cookies for websites you’ve already visited in Chrome.

WebView is often used to show web pages inside apps, like privacy policies, log-in pages, and web-based apps. WebView lets the app show this content without using a browser, which makes the user’s experience smoother.

WebView lets you click on links inside social media apps like Facebook and Twitter to open the linked website without having to open a separate browser like Chrome. The link takes you right to the original app, so it’s easy to get back to what you were doing when you’re ready.

In some cases, the app you download from Google Play will just be a wrapper for a web-based app that uses WebView. If WebView is turned off, the app will not work at all.

Is it safe to get rid of Android System WebView?

Because Android System WebView is a system app, you can’t get rid of it. You can get rid of updates through Google Play, but you can’t get rid of the app itself with Android. You can force it to stop if you think it’s broken, or you can turn it off. However, if you’re using Android 10 or later, doing either of these things will cause problems with other apps.

You can’t get rid of WebView itself, but you can get rid of updates to it. This can make security holes, though, so only uninstall WebView updates if you have a good reason.

Here’s how to get rid of updates to the Android System WebView:

Open Google Play, and then tap your profile picture next to the search box.
Tap Manage apps & devices.
Tap Manage.

Find Android System WebView and tap it.
Tap “Remove.”

How to Turn Off the System WebView on Android

If you have Android 7, 8, or 9, you can turn off Android System WebView without any trouble. The WebView app isn’t as important on these versions of Android because Chrome already has WebView functionality built in. If you have Android 10 or a later version, you shouldn’t turn off WebView unless there’s a good reason to.

Here’s how to turn off WebView on Android System: