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I'm sure this has gotten better as people have become more used to smartphones, but I worked on a popular app for a big company a number of years ago, and we wo

I'm sure this has gotten better as people have become more used to smartphones, but I worked on a popular app for a big company a number of years ago, and we would send people out to Safari to open links. The number of customer service calls we got from people who couldn't figure out how to get back to the app after that was ASTOUNDING. We eventually gave in and did an in-app browser. Not only did it get rid of that category of call, but it also noticeably helped our key metrics because fewer people were leaving the app to never come back again. I realize that doesn't address the appeal FOR USERS, but it is why we did it as developers.

thrashh 4y ago
I’m a developer and I remember turning off in-app browsers whenever I could and I absolutely hated it My browser would get littered with old tabs and coming back to the app for a small click became a hassle On the off-chance I do want to save a link, I know I can just open it in my browser anyway So I much prefer in-app browsers as a user and a developer
- modeless 4y ago
  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.
- shawnz 4y ago
  I think Android's "custom tabs" functionality is a great compromise. Apps can open a separate instance of the user's default browser which becomes part of the app's activity stack and doesn't share tabs with the main browser instance. However the UI and navigation are controlled by the browser, not the app. Cookies and local storage are also shared with the main browser instance, allowing seamless SSO without the app being able to intercept the secrets. AFAIK iOS supports something similar, but only for authentication use cases.
  - brianslp 4y ago
    iOS has essentially the same: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/safariservices/sfsafariviewcontroller https://developer.apple.com/documentation/safariservices/sfs...
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
- conductr 4y ago
  I feel like half the time I encounter them is when I’m already in my browser, click a link (probably search results), it opens the app, the app proceeds to display content in an in app browser.. and I’m just left think why, WhY, WHY?
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
fleddr 4y ago
Same issue when your website opens a link in a new tab on mobile: many mobile users have no idea how to get back. The back button does not work and they don't know how to close/switch tabs. They're barely aware of the concept of a tab.
- autoexec 4y ago
  > They're barely aware of the concept of a tab. What mobile browsers actually have tabs that look like tabs? Honest question, I've only ever used firefox on android. If the others handle tabs anything like firefox does tabs are way more intuitive on a PC.
  - fleddr 4y ago
    None, and that's indeed the issue. You can't even see you're in a tab as the entire concept is in no way communicated.
  - djxfade 4y ago
    iOS does have visible tabs, identical to desktop Safari. But only in landscape mode
mtlmtlmtlmtl 4y ago
That's a very understandable decision from an app developer POV. But the fault lies with the OS and ideally should be solved by it. This isn't a problem on real computers. It's like putting a toilet in every room because people can't find the bathroom when maybe the bathroom shouldn't have been hidden down in a hatch under a rug. But you can't easily rebuild your house, and now there's shit everywhere, so what is one to do?
- judge2020 4y ago
  iOS 'solved' this by including a back button in the top left that takes you to the previous app, but now I sometimes misclick that when trying to hit a button/control in the top left of the foreground app. On a small 5 to 8-inch display, there's tradeoffs for every change they make and in every stage of the design process.
brianslp 4y ago
This has actually been fixed since iOS 9: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/safariservices/sfsafariviewcontroller https://developer.apple.com/documentation/safariservices/sfs... This opens Safari, but makes it appear like it's an in-app browser. Best of both.

thrashh 4y ago

I’m a developer and I remember turning off in-app browsers whenever I could and I absolutely hated it My browser would get littered with old tabs and coming back to the app for a small click became a hassle On the off-chance I do want to save a link, I know I can just open it in my browser anyway So I much prefer in-app browsers as a user and a developer

modeless 4y ago
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.
shawnz 4y ago
I think Android's "custom tabs" functionality is a great compromise. Apps can open a separate instance of the user's default browser which becomes part of the app's activity stack and doesn't share tabs with the main browser instance. However the UI and navigation are controlled by the browser, not the app. Cookies and local storage are also shared with the main browser instance, allowing seamless SSO without the app being able to intercept the secrets. AFAIK iOS supports something similar, but only for authentication use cases.
- brianslp 4y ago
  iOS has essentially the same: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/safariservices/sfsafariviewcontroller https://developer.apple.com/documentation/safariservices/sfs...
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
conductr 4y ago
I feel like half the time I encounter them is when I’m already in my browser, click a link (probably search results), it opens the app, the app proceeds to display content in an in app browser.. and I’m just left think why, WhY, WHY?

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

fleddr 4y ago

Same issue when your website opens a link in a new tab on mobile: many mobile users have no idea how to get back. The back button does not work and they don't know how to close/switch tabs. They're barely aware of the concept of a tab.

autoexec 4y ago
> They're barely aware of the concept of a tab. What mobile browsers actually have tabs that look like tabs? Honest question, I've only ever used firefox on android. If the others handle tabs anything like firefox does tabs are way more intuitive on a PC.
- fleddr 4y ago
  None, and that's indeed the issue. You can't even see you're in a tab as the entire concept is in no way communicated.
- djxfade 4y ago
  iOS does have visible tabs, identical to desktop Safari. But only in landscape mode

mtlmtlmtlmtl 4y ago

That's a very understandable decision from an app developer POV. But the fault lies with the OS and ideally should be solved by it. This isn't a problem on real computers. It's like putting a toilet in every room because people can't find the bathroom when maybe the bathroom shouldn't have been hidden down in a hatch under a rug. But you can't easily rebuild your house, and now there's shit everywhere, so what is one to do?

judge2020 4y ago
iOS 'solved' this by including a back button in the top left that takes you to the previous app, but now I sometimes misclick that when trying to hit a button/control in the top left of the foreground app. On a small 5 to 8-inch display, there's tradeoffs for every change they make and in every stage of the design process.

brianslp 4y ago

This has actually been fixed since iOS 9: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/safariservices/sfsafariviewcontroller https://developer.apple.com/documentation/safariservices/sfs... This opens Safari, but makes it appear like it's an in-app browser. Best of both.