Android System Web View is a system component that allows Android apps to display web content without opening a dedicated browser. In short, Android System Web View is a web browser engine or built-in web browser designed specifically for apps that display web content.
Google’s ubiquitous browser, Chrome, supports the Android Web View system.
The Android System Web View app is usually pre-installed on most Android smartphones. That way, developers who use it to render internet content in their apps can do it without warning of compatibility issues.
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What Does Android System WebView Do?
Many Android apps, such as Gmail, Twitter, and Reddit typically display Internet content. Google has made it easier for developers to render internet content in their apps via Android System Web View.
This saves Android app developers a lot of time that can be spent rewriting hundreds, if not thousands, of lines of code from scratch. Instead, just paste a few lines of Web View library code and render the web content into your app and you’re ready to go. How cool is that?
Is it safe to turn off Android System WebView?
No. Also, if you’re wondering if you need Android System Web View, the simple answer is yes. Web View is no longer a staple of early Android, but that doesn’t mean it’s useless. Google has separated Web View from the core operating system of Android 10 and above. This is a separate app, but it can give the impression that it’s not strictly necessary, but it is.
But there are exceptions. You can disable Android System Web View on Android 7.0, 8.0, and 9.0 without significant impact. In these versions of Android, Chrome was the main driver for Web View tasks. However, it is safe to leave Web View enabled for newer and older versions of Android.
You can disable Android WebView if you want, but you can’t uninstall the app. Keep in mind that disabling Web View can affect the performance of some Android apps.
An error in Web View will ruin all Android apps that use the component.
Android System Web View is also not spyware or bloatware, so you generally don’t have to worry unless your app crashes naturally.
How to Fix WebView Crash on Android?
It is not common for all the apps to crash at the same time. However, if this happens, there may be a problem with Web View. If your Android app is crashing, you can fix it in the following ways:
Update the Android System WebView App
The first thing to do is to update both Android System Web View and Chrome. In March 2021, Google released an update for the System Web View app. This caused all Android apps that use the component to crash unexpectedly. Fortunately, this issue has been fixed in a follow-up update. Here’s how you can update the Android System WebView app.
- Search for the “Android System WebView” app in the Play Store.
- If you see Uninstall, you are already using the latest version of WebView. If you see Update, then tap it to update the app.
- Reboot the device.
If the manual update is not completed clearing Google Play storage will help.
To do this, launch Settings go to Apps & Notifications > Google Play Store> Storage & Cache > Clear Storage. These steps may vary from device to device. Now follow the steps above to manually update the Android System Web View.
Also, please update Google Chrome to make sure you are using the latest version of your browser. If that doesn’t work then you can try uninstalling webview update.
Uninstall WebView Update
Uninstalling Web View updates may also fix the problem. If you’ve just updated System WebView or Chrome and some apps crash later, it’s useful to uninstall.
- Search Android System WebView app in Play Store.
- Tap Uninstall updates to remove the Web View updates.
- Reboot the device.
Fixing Crashing Apps on Android
Usually, all software has bugs. On Android, it may crash as soon as you launch the app. First, update Android System WebView and Google Chrome. If the problem persists, try uninstalling Android System WebView or Chrome Update. The app crash is just one of many issues you may face on Android that can be fixed relatively easily.
