In a perfect world, in-app browsers would be replaced by custom tabs in all Android apps (WebViews). Google has improved the visibility of Chrome Custom Tabs when you are “running” them (CCT).
“Powered by Chrome” would be shown at the bottom of the three-dot overflow menu on Chrome 104 or earlier. The Google browser is rolling out new “Running in Chrome” lettering and a logo for Custom Tabs as of version 105. (The full-color icon in the last element would be less obtrusive if it were monochrome.)
In comparison to the preceding description, it is more visible and accessible and appears in all apps that support Chrome Custom Tabs.
If a developer’s “app directs consumers to URLs outside [their] domain,” Google advises using Custom Tabs. While offering “support for the same web platform features and capabilities as the browsers,” applications can personalise the toolbar with their own button and menu elements. One of the largest benefits is that users don’t have to log in again because they stay hooked in to the same websites.
On Android, popular third-party apps like Slack and Twitter employ Custom Tabs, but Instagram is a particularly egregious holdout. The Google app for Search results and the Discover feed briefly experimented with having a built-in browser, but it appears the effort has been shelved. I hope it won’t come back.
At the beginning of this week, Chrome 105 has not yet been widely released.
