History of Android System WebView

Early versions of WebView were integrated as part of the core OS. Users could only update WebView through larger system updates.

With the release of Android 5.0, Google separated WebView from the core OS. With this change, WebView updates could be distributed through the Google Play Store app, and users could update WebView independently of the OS. If an issue was found in the WebView component, Google would push out a bug fix that users could install without having to completely update Android.

Google combined WebView with Google Chrome for versions 7.0, 8.0 and 9.0. However, with Android 10.0, it went back to having it as a separate component. Users can update WebView in Android 10 through Google Play Store. Sometimes, this requires they delete stored data from the application’s cache before downloading the update.

Google no longer provides patches for vulnerabilities found in older versions — 4.3 and earlier — of Android. To protect devices from attacks that might exploit WebView’s capabilities, the company recommends Android users run the latest version of the OS and update WebView when prompted.

Is it safe to uninstall Android System WebView?

WebView is impossible to uninstall because it is system software and comes pre-installed on Android devices. However, it can be disabled on certain Android versions.

Users may disable WebView for the following reasons:

• They’re unfamiliar with the Android System WebView application and mistake it for malicious spyware or useless bloatware.
• It consumes more resources than they like.
• They have a bad user experience as happens occasionally because WebView is poorly integrated in a web application.
• WebView doesn’t work consistently on different versions of Android.

Google does not advise disabling WebView; users should keep it activated and updated. However, users running Android 7.0, 8.0 and 9.0 may want to disable it to conserve processing power or memory or avoid crashes related to update bugs. Users can safely disable Android System WebView in the following Android versions without experiencing adverse consequences:

• Android 7.0 Nougat
• Android 8.0 Oreo
• Android 9.0 Pie

Follow these steps to disable WebView in the three versions listed above:

1. Go to Settings > Apps/application > More > Show system.
2. Scroll to and select Android WebView.
3. Tap Disable.

On Android 7.0, 8.0 and 9.0, Google Chrome handles the embedded browsing functions. On other Android OS versions, web app performance may suffer without WebView enabled. Operating without WebView also may introduce a security risk because it disables Android’s default security configuration for embedding web content in applications. Developers can use third-party code instead of WebView or alternative Android browsers to perform the same task, although third-party code may have more built-in vulnerabilities.