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How to install a web app on Chrome, Safari, and Android (without an App Store)

Install a web app from the browser (Chrome, Edge, Safari, Android). Own window, dock icon, no App Store. Plus when a tab is enough, and five installable picks.

You do not need an App Store account to get a real app icon. A lot of browser tools install from the page itself: their own window, a spot in the dock or on the home screen, and a launch that feels like any other program.

On Linkstore, installable apps carry an Installable badge. This piece is the practical how-to (browser by browser), plus a short shelf of apps worth pinning.

What you get when you install

An installed web app usually opens in a standalone window. No browser chrome in the way. Icon in the dock, taskbar, or home screen. Same sandbox as the tab: camera, notifications, and file access stay explicit.

Installable is not the same as offline. Offline needs caching that still works with the network cut. Some installable apps go dark without Wi-Fi. Some offline apps were never meant to install. Check both badges on the listing when that matters.

It is also optional. Plenty of excellent web apps stay as tabs forever. Install when you open something daily. Leave it as a tab when you do not.

Chrome and Edge (desktop)

1. Open the app in Chrome or Edge. Good first tries: Photopea or Squoosh. 2. Look for the install icon in the address bar (monitor-with-arrow / "Install"), or open the menu (⋮) → Install [app name] / Apps → Install this site as an app. 3. Confirm. The app opens in its own window. Pin it to the taskbar or dock if you want it every day.

Edge and Chrome behave almost the same here. If you do not see Install, the site is not offering an installable app in that browser. Leave it as a tab. Corporate-managed browsers sometimes hide the prompt; that is a policy issue, not a broken app.

Safari on iPhone and iPad

1. Open the app in Safari (not Chrome-on-iOS; Add to Home Screen is a Safari feature). 2. Tap Share (□↑) → Add to Home Screen. 3. Edit the name if you want, tap Add.

On iOS this is the practical path for most web apps. Richer install prompts have improved over time, but Share → Add to Home Screen still works when nothing else does. Excalidraw and Lichess are good ones to try on a phone.

Safari on macOS

1. Open the app in Safari. 2. Use File → Add to Dock (wording varies slightly by macOS version), or the Share / install affordance when Safari offers it for sites with a manifest. 3. Launch from the Dock like any other app.

If Safari will not install a given site, Chrome or Edge on the same Mac usually will when the app supports it. That split is normal: not every manifest path is equal across engines.

Android Chrome

1. Open the app in Chrome. 2. Tap the menu (⋮) → Install app / Add to Home screen when offered. 3. Confirm. The icon lands with your other apps.

Android is where installable web apps feel closest to "real" installs: home screen icon, app drawer entry, often a splash screen. PairDrop is a solid first install if you move files between a phone and a laptop on the same network.

How to uninstall

  • Windows / macOS (Chrome, Edge): open chrome://apps or edge://apps, right-click the app → Remove; or uninstall from the OS apps list like any other program.
  • iOS: long-press the home screen icon → Remove App.
  • Android: long-press → Uninstall / Remove.

Nothing leftover in an App Store account. You are removing a shortcut the browser created.

Install didn't show up?

Usually one of these:

  • The site has no installable manifest (no badge on our listing either).
  • You are in a private/incognito window - try a normal one.
  • You already installed it (check chrome://apps / the home screen).
  • On iOS you used a non-Safari browser.
  • A work profile blocked install prompts.

If our listing says Installable and your browser still refuses, tell us which browser/OS. Badges can lag when an app ships a regression.

When a tab is enough

Install is a habit tool, not a purity test.

Keep it as a tab when you open the app once a month, when you are comparing three alternatives in one sitting, or when the site never offers install and you still like the product. Bookmarks and pinned tabs are fine. The directory lists both installable and tab-only apps for a reason. The job is "runs in the browser," not "must live in the dock."

Five installable apps worth trying

These are apps people keep opening, each with a live Installable listing:

  • Photopea - Photoshop-shaped editing when a client dumps a .psd
  • Squoosh - image compression that stays on your device
  • Excalidraw - diagrams cheap enough to throw away
  • Lichess - serious chess, free, no ads
  • PairDrop - AirDrop-shaped sharing on the local network

If you build web apps

Ship a proper web app manifest and icons if you want the Installable badge. We mark it when the browser actually offers install, not because a press kit said "PWA."

Submit free or check Pricing for paid options. Paying never buys approval to get listed.

The point

The web already runs half the software you use. Installing from the browser is just how you keep the ones you live in, without another App Store gate.

Pick one from the installable shelf. Install it on the browser you actually use. Keep it if the dock icon earns its place.