Buzz
Many Android users have surely come across the Android System WebView app in the list of apps updated on their phones. But many may not know what Android System WebView is and whether deleting it will cause any problems.
Let's delve into these issues with 24h Technology through the article below!
1. What is Android System WebView?
Android System WebView is a system app on the Android operating system that enables your phone to display web content directly within apps, eliminating the need to open a browser to view such content.
A specific example is when you click on a URL within the Facebook app, you'll immediately see the content within Facebook itself, without having to switch to a browser to view it.
It's worth noting that not all apps can support Android System WebView. This is why some links from certain apps open in Chrome instead of within the app.
2. What is the role of Android System WebView?
Many Android apps like Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, etc., often display content from the Internet. Google has made it easy for developers to display Internet content within their apps through Android System WebView.
This helps Android developers save a lot of time compared to writing hundreds, even thousands of lines of code from scratch.
Instead, to display web content within the app, all they have to do is input a few lines of code from the WebView library, and everything is ready to go.
3. Android Versions Supporting Android System WebView
Android System WebView is a system app, meaning it's available on all Android versions.
When Android 5.0 Lollipop was released, Google separated WebView from the operating system, and you need to download it through Google Play. In Android 7.0 Nougat, Android 8.0 Oreo, and Android 9.0 Pie, WebView has been integrated into the Chrome browser, so you just need to update Chrome to update WebView.
Later, Google reintroduced WebView back into the Android system on Android 10 and Android 11 instead of continuing to integrate it into Chrome.
4. Can Android System WebView be uninstalled from the phone?
Any system app on an Android phone serves its own purpose to help users access various functions. Therefore, system apps on Android cannot be uninstalled or removed from the phone.
You can only uninstall updates of Android System WebView and revert it to the original version to free up more memory space for the phone.
5. Is it safe to disable Android System WebView?
My answer is no. Google separated it from WebView, starting from Android 10. Although being a standalone app might intuitively suggest it's unnecessary, the reality is quite the opposite.
You can disable Android System WebView on Android 7.0, 8.0, and 9.0 without causing any serious consequences. In these Android versions, Chrome is the underlying engine behind WebView tasks. However, on newer Android versions like Android 10 and Android 11, it's safer to keep WebView enabled.
Summary
You can disable WebView by reverting the app to its original version if needed, but you can't uninstall this app. Remember that disabling WebView may affect the performance of some Android apps, and your phone may encounter errors.
Do you still have any questions about this app? If so, feel free to leave a comment below, and we'll be happy to answer! Thank you for following along.
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