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Chrome Developers
developer.chrome.com โ€บ blog โ€บ getting started with progressive web apps
Getting started with Progressive Web Apps | Blog | Chrome for Developers
December 15, 2015 - One of the nice aspects of the "progressive" nature to this model is that features can be gradually unlocked as browser vendors ship better support for them. Progressive Web Apps such as Pokedex also of course work great in Opera on Android too with a few notable differences in implementation:
Discussions

Turn any Website into a PWA with Chrome
Check out Hermit. It is specifically designed for this kind of thing. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chimbori.hermitcrab More on reddit.com
๐ŸŒ r/AndroidQuestions
5
3
May 5, 2022
How to install pwa on Android?
Thank you for your submission to r/Chrome ! We hope you'll find the help you need. Once you've found a solution to your issue, please comment "!solved" under this comment to mark the post as solved. Thanks! I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns. More on reddit.com
๐ŸŒ r/chrome
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1
July 12, 2024
PWA not updating *only* on Chrome in Android
There is a way to do it, I forget how to do it in code but I've done it before. You can force an update manually by clearing all the site data in chrome. More on reddit.com
๐ŸŒ r/PWA
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July 14, 2021
How to install pwa on Android? : chrome
๐ŸŒ r/chrome
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Medium
medium.com โ€บ @julianneagu โ€บ installing-pwas-on-chrome-easy-step-by-step-guide-01611e7b2165
Installing PWAs on Chrome: Easy Step-by-Step Guide | Medium
February 13, 2024 - Look into the reason behind its absence. On Chrome for Android, either Chrome automatically shows a prompt to install the PWA, or you can manually install it from the browser menu.

type of web application that can be cached through network and works as a standard native app

A progressive web application (PWA), or progressive web app, is a type of web app that can be installed on a device as a standalone application. PWAs are installed using the offline โ€ฆ Wikipedia
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org โ€บ wiki โ€บ Progressive_web_app
Progressive web app - Wikipedia
November 2, 2025 - Because a PWA is delivered in the ... browser. As of 2025, PWA features are supported to varying degrees by Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Brave, Firefox for Android, Microsoft Edge, and Firefox for Windows....
Top answer
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No, you can't, at least not as useful PWAs.

Let's first take a look at the definition of Progressive Web Apps:

A progressive web app (PWA) is an app that's built using web platform technologies, but that provides a user experience like that of a platform-specific app.

Like a website, a PWA can run on multiple platforms and devices from a single codebase. Like a platform-specific app, it can be installed on the device, can operate while offline and in the background, and can integrate with the device and with other installed apps.

Source

I'll start with the "can operate while offline" specification - that is pretty much impossible to achieve on user's side with many web apps, as they rely on pulling data frequently from the internet. There are PWAs that ignore this and don't even handle lack of connection properly, but I wouldn't necessarily call them fully proper PWAs.

Then we have integration with systems. For example with notifications. This and offline handling is done with help of service workers, which you can't easily define as a user for any sort of websites either. It's also optional in theory, but if you skip such features, there's not much point of PWAs.

And lastly the most important part - ability to install it as an app on various devices. This is done by linking a manifest in the HTML, e.g.:

<link rel="manifest" href="manifest.json">

The manifest defines basic PWA info, such as icons, where the application should start, how it should be displayed, etc.

This part could perhaps be achievable by dynamically adding the tag with your own external manifest through userscript, but once again, I see no point in doing that and it's not even worth trying as adding a website to e.g. your bookmarks is basically a much more optimal equivalent.

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A PWA (Progressive Web App) is different from a website. It has to be written to be a PWA. A PWA can also be used as a webpage or website.

But you can store shortcuts to normal websites on your desktop.

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web.dev
web.dev โ€บ learn โ€บ pwa โ€บ installation
Installation | web.dev
The app catalogs and stores that support publishing a PWA are: Google Play Store for Android and ChromeOS, using a Trusted Web Activity.
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Chrome OS
chromeos.dev โ€บ en โ€บ web โ€บ desktop-progressive-web-apps
Desktop Progressive Web Apps | ChromeOS.dev
Get your Add to Chromebook badge now! ... Desktop Progressive Web Appsโ โ  (PWAs) are a great cross-platform, cross-browser way to build apps with a security model that centers user safety and privacy and get built-in sharing with the webโ€™s inherent linkability.
Find elsewhere
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Reddit
reddit.com โ€บ r/androidquestions โ€บ turn any website into a pwa with chrome
r/AndroidQuestions on Reddit: Turn any Website into a PWA with Chrome
May 5, 2022 -

For some websites I can install an PWA (Progressive Web App) onto my phone but many don't support this. Is there a way to force chrome to create an App for a website, even if the website doesn't really support this?

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Mozilla
developer.mozilla.org โ€บ en-US โ€บ docs โ€บ Web โ€บ Progressive_web_apps โ€บ Guides โ€บ Making_PWAs_installable
Making PWAs installable - Progressive web apps | MDN
3 weeks ago - Firefox does not support installing PWAs using a manifest file. ... On Android, Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Opera, and Samsung Internet Browser all support installing PWAs.
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9to5Google
9to5google.com โ€บ home โ€บ chrome for android getting new pwa install ui, starting with twitter
Chrome for Android getting new PWA install UI, starting with Twitter
April 2, 2021 - As the adoption of Progressive Web Apps increases, Google is working to make the installation process more prominent. The latest effort is in Chrome for Android and sees a new PWA install sheet provide an app store-like appearance online.
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Web.dev
web.dev โ€บ articles โ€บ using a pwa in your android app
Using a PWA in your Android app | Articles | web.dev
December 6, 2021 - Trusted Web Activity is an open standard that allows browsers to provide a fully web platform compatible container that renders PWAs inside an Android app. The feature is available in Chrome, and in development in Firefox Nightly.
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YouTube
youtube.com โ€บ watch
Learn How To Install PWA In Android Phones: Step By Step - YouTube
Progressive Web Apps, aka PWAs, are the best way for developers to make their webapps load faster and more performant. In a nutshell, PWAs are websites that ...
Published ย  December 9, 2021
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MakeUseOf
makeuseof.com โ€บ home โ€บ technology news โ€บ google brings new pwa install ui to chrome for android
Google Brings New PWA Install UI to Chrome for Android
March 30, 2021 - This is because Google is rolling out a new PWA install UI that looks much like the Play Store UI. Currently, if you open a supported site in Chrome on Android, you get a little banner at the bottom asking to add the app to the home screen.
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web.dev
web.dev โ€บ learn โ€บ pwa โ€บ progressive-web-apps
Progressive Web Apps | web.dev
Firefox, Google Chrome, Samsung Internet, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Brave, Huawei Browser, Baidu, UCWeb, Play Store (from version 72 with Google Chrome installed, or browsers compatible with TWA), Galaxy Store, Managed Play iframe for enterprise distribution. Caution: On both Android and iOS, users can't install PWAs from many in-app browsers, such as Facebook Mobile Browser, Instagram, Google Search App, or Gmail.
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CDC
cdc.gov โ€บ niosh โ€บ mining โ€บ tools โ€บ installpwa.html
How to Install a PWA | Mining | CDC
January 2, 2025 - The default Chrome browser is capable of installing PWAs for Android. First, navigate to the site in Chrome. Press the "three dot" icon in the upper right to open the menu. Select "Add to Home screen." Press the "Add" button in the popup.
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Elevio
connectuc.elevio.help โ€บ en โ€บ articles โ€บ 27-managing-progressive-web-apps-chrome-and-edge
Managing Progressive Web Apps (Chrome and Edge)
May 15, 2025 - This article explains how to manage Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) from within Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.
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Reddit
reddit.com โ€บ r/chrome โ€บ how to install pwa on android?
r/chrome on Reddit: How to install pwa on Android?
July 12, 2024 -

I know you can add a shortcut to the home screen. But that's not what I'm after.

I'm trying to ad novelai as a pwa. I know it can have a pwa because I've had on my previous phone. I'm trying to get the pwa again on a new phone.

The first time I opened the site, there was the usual "install app" pop-up. I closed it by mistake and now the pop-up won't show up again no matter how many times I reload the website. Restarting the phone didn't help either.

Any help would be appreciated.

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Chrome Developers
developer.chrome.com โ€บ docs โ€บ chrome devtools โ€บ debug progressive web apps
Debug Progressive Web Apps | Chrome DevTools | Chrome for Developers
July 25, 2016 - Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are modern, high quality applications built using web technology. PWAs offer similar capabilities to iOS, Android, and desktop apps.
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PCMAG
pcmag.com โ€บ home โ€บ how-to
PWAs Turn Websites Into Apps: Here's How | PCMag
October 6, 2021 - Hereโ€™s what you need to do to install a PWA on each major operating system (in order of popularity). Left: Install app choice in Chrome; Center: After you press Install app; Left: Install in Firefox.