How to Install a Website as an App on Android, iPhone and PC

What "installing a website" means

Many modern websites are built as progressive web apps (PWAs). A PWA is still a website, but it can be installed: it gets an icon on your home screen or desktop, opens in its own window without the address bar, and can send notifications if you allow it. Twitter/X, Spotify, Starbucks, Pinterest and many games and tools offer this.

Installing a web app does not download a large package from an app store. The browser saves a small shortcut plus the files the site needs, and updates them by itself when the site changes. It takes a few seconds and uses very little storage, which makes it handy on phones that are almost full.

Android: Chrome, Edge and Samsung Internet

• Open the website in Chrome.
• Tap the menu (three dots in the top right corner).
• Tap "Add to Home screen" or "Install app". On newer Chrome versions you may see "Install" directly.
• Confirm. The icon appears on your home screen and in your app list.

Some sites show their own Install button or a banner at the bottom of the screen; it does the same thing. In Samsung Internet, look for the download-style icon in the address bar, or the menu entry "Add page to" → "Home screen". Edge on Android uses its menu → "Add to phone".

iPhone and iPad: Safari (and other browsers on iOS 16.4 or newer)

• Open the website in Safari.
• Tap the Share button (the square with an arrow pointing up). On newer iOS versions it may be inside the page menu at the bottom.
• Scroll down and tap "Add to Home Screen".
• Check the name, then tap Add.

Since iOS 16.4, Chrome, Edge and Firefox on iPhone can also add sites to the Home Screen from their Share menu. On iPhone, a web app can only send notifications after it has been added to the Home Screen and opened from there, so this step matters if you want reminders.

Windows, Mac, Linux and Chromebook: Chrome and Edge

• Chrome: look for the small install icon (a monitor with a down arrow) on the right side of the address bar and click it. If it is not there, open the menu → "Cast, save and share" → "Install page as app".
• Edge: open the menu (three dots) → Apps → "Install this site as an app".
• Safari on Mac (macOS Sonoma or newer): File → "Add to Dock".

The app then appears in the Start menu, the Dock or the app launcher, and opens in its own window. You can pin it to the taskbar like any other program.

Why people install web apps

• One tap to open, without typing the address or searching through tabs.
• Full screen on phones: no address bar, so games and tools get more space.
• Notifications, if you allow them, for messages, reminders or timers.
• Small size: usually a few megabytes instead of the hundreds of megabytes many store apps need.
• Always up to date: there is no update button to press.
• Your sign-in is shared with the browser, so you usually stay signed in.

Notifications: allow only what you want

An installed web app has to ask before it sends notifications, the same way a website does. You can turn them off at any time: on Android, long-press the app icon → App info → Notifications; on iPhone, Settings → Notifications → the app; on a computer, the site settings in the browser. A good app sends few notifications and only useful ones, such as "your timer is ready", never a stream of adverts.

How to remove an installed web app

• Android: long-press the icon and choose Uninstall or Remove. Your browser data for the site stays until you clear it in the browser settings.
• iPhone: long-press the icon → Remove App → Delete App. This also deletes the data saved by that Home Screen app.
• Chrome or Edge on a computer: open the app, use its menu → Uninstall, or right-click it in the Start menu and choose Uninstall.

Is it safe?

Installing a web app gives it no extra rights compared with visiting the site: it cannot read your files, contacts or messages, and it still has to ask for the microphone, camera or notifications. The main thing to check is the address. Install only from the real website (look at the address before you install), not from a link in a message that leads to a look-alike address.

Lootbeez can be installed this way on all the systems above. It opens straight to the game, and voice mining reminders work once notifications are allowed.