4 ms·

People really use this browser?

outime 8y ago
According to Google Play [1] it has >500M installs and about 20M reviews. [1] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.UCMobile.intl&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.UCMobile.i...
- outloudvi 8y ago
  That only represents the data of Google Play. Considering China is one of the largest markets of UC, yet doesn't have access to Google Play, the actual number would be a lot more than that. According to iResearch[1], it has 311m "monthly unique devices" in China in Feb 2019. [1]. https://index.iresearch.com.cn/app/detail?id=12&Tid=73 https://index.iresearch.com.cn/app/detail?id=12&Tid=73 (Chinese)
PikachuEXE 8y ago
I see strange JS error reports from this browser sometimes
O_H_E 8y ago
I think that I have read that it is really famous in India.
- plibither8 8y ago
  Yes. The userbase has grown bigger more recently due to the browser's free in-built VPN being used to circumvent the government's ban on ~800 porn sites[1]. [1] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/govt-plays-net-nanny-bans-800-porn-sites-subscribers-see-red/articleshow/66453163.cms https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/govt-plays-net-nan...
  - tintintin 8y ago
    Well that's one way to grow...
saagarjha 8y ago
It's popular in Asia.
lexicality 8y ago
Yes. A company I worked for had a large Indian userbase who almost exclusively used it.
lucb1e 8y ago
Sure, lots of people install custom browsers because they don't like the standard ones, myself included. Fennec (Firefox but from f-droid) is super slow, Chrome is not an option for privacy, but Lightning[1] is fast and has most of the features I want so that's what I use at the moment. It might be vulnerable for something, but I'm taking my chances with some lesser-known browser versus having the pain of a super slow browser all the time. This is also one of the reasons I don't have a banking app installed or have ssh keys on my phone or something: my phone is just not as trusted as my laptop. I remember that UC is one of the ones I looked at, probably even installed to try it out. Edit: sibling comments mention popularity in India or Asia, but I'm from the Netherlands. My brother also has a habit of finding custom things (independently from me), sometimes quite questionable apps... it's not just asians that install non-google apps. [1] https://f-droid.org/en/packages/acr.browser.lightning/ https://f-droid.org/en/packages/acr.browser.lightning/
40dslf 8y ago
Yes, since new Android phones only have Chrome which is very heavy. UC Browser has a reputation of being lean, so it's widely used in poor countries.
onionsoup 8y ago
It was the the largest browsers in Indonesia and India, at least in part because it's marketed as saving $$ on data by blocking calls to download ads and other scripts[1][2]. [1] https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/2130205/alibabas-uc-mobile-browser-no-1-india-google-closing-phones-get-fancier https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/2130205/alibabas-uc-mobile... [2]https://marketingland.com/alibabas-uc-browser-beating-google-chrome-indian-mobile-market-231241 https://marketingland.com/alibabas-uc-browser-beating-google...
- baybal2 8y ago
  While downloading gigabytes of own ads...
smush 8y ago
Sure! I have it on my Dell Venue Pro running Windows Phone 7. There's dozens of us.

According to Google Play [1] it has >500M installs and about 20M reviews. [1] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.UCMobile.intl&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.UCMobile.i...

outloudvi 8y ago
That only represents the data of Google Play. Considering China is one of the largest markets of UC, yet doesn't have access to Google Play, the actual number would be a lot more than that. According to iResearch[1], it has 311m "monthly unique devices" in China in Feb 2019. [1]. https://index.iresearch.com.cn/app/detail?id=12&Tid=73 https://index.iresearch.com.cn/app/detail?id=12&Tid=73 (Chinese)

PikachuEXE 8y ago

I see strange JS error reports from this browser sometimes

O_H_E 8y ago

I think that I have read that it is really famous in India.

plibither8 8y ago
Yes. The userbase has grown bigger more recently due to the browser's free in-built VPN being used to circumvent the government's ban on ~800 porn sites[1]. [1] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/govt-plays-net-nanny-bans-800-porn-sites-subscribers-see-red/articleshow/66453163.cms https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/govt-plays-net-nan...
- tintintin 8y ago
  Well that's one way to grow...

saagarjha 8y ago

It's popular in Asia.

lexicality 8y ago

Yes. A company I worked for had a large Indian userbase who almost exclusively used it.

lucb1e 8y ago

Sure, lots of people install custom browsers because they don't like the standard ones, myself included. Fennec (Firefox but from f-droid) is super slow, Chrome is not an option for privacy, but Lightning[1] is fast and has most of the features I want so that's what I use at the moment. It might be vulnerable for something, but I'm taking my chances with some lesser-known browser versus having the pain of a super slow browser all the time. This is also one of the reasons I don't have a banking app installed or have ssh keys on my phone or something: my phone is just not as trusted as my laptop. I remember that UC is one of the ones I looked at, probably even installed to try it out. Edit: sibling comments mention popularity in India or Asia, but I'm from the Netherlands. My brother also has a habit of finding custom things (independently from me), sometimes quite questionable apps... it's not just asians that install non-google apps. [1] https://f-droid.org/en/packages/acr.browser.lightning/ https://f-droid.org/en/packages/acr.browser.lightning/

40dslf 8y ago

Yes, since new Android phones only have Chrome which is very heavy. UC Browser has a reputation of being lean, so it's widely used in poor countries.

onionsoup 8y ago

It was the the largest browsers in Indonesia and India, at least in part because it's marketed as saving $$ on data by blocking calls to download ads and other scripts[1][2]. [1] https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/2130205/alibabas-uc-mobile-browser-no-1-india-google-closing-phones-get-fancier https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/2130205/alibabas-uc-mobile... [2]https://marketingland.com/alibabas-uc-browser-beating-google-chrome-indian-mobile-market-231241 https://marketingland.com/alibabas-uc-browser-beating-google...

baybal2 8y ago
While downloading gigabytes of own ads...

smush 8y ago

Sure! I have it on my Dell Venue Pro running Windows Phone 7. There's dozens of us.