Which browser is this, really?

How to test an app

1. Copy this page's address, or scan the code with the phone.
2. Paste it somewhere inside the app: a direct message to yourself, your bio, a draft post, a comment.
3. Tap it there. The page that opens names the browser the app used.

The same app can answer differently in different places. Instagram opens a bio link in its own browser, while WhatsApp hands links to the system. Test the placement you plan to use.

Why it matters

A link that opens your app from Safari or Chrome often does nothing of the kind inside an app's own browser. The browser loads the web page, the phone is never asked whether an app wants the link, and your visitor lands on a store page for an app they already have. The fix is on the link's side: detect the in-app browser and answer it with a page and a button to tap.

To see what your own link serves to each of these browsers, run it through the link checker.

What this page cannot tell

• Apps that use the system's in-app Safari view or a Chrome Custom Tab send the same user agent as the real browser. They show here as Safari or Chrome.
• An iPad asking for the desktop site sends a Mac's user agent and shows here as a Mac.
• The behaviour described is reported by developers, not confirmed by us on a device, as reviewed on 2026-10-10. Apps change this without notice.