How to Install a Web App (PWA) on iPhone and Android
No app store required: the exact taps to put a web app on your home screen on iOS and Android, what installing actually changes, and the traps that make the option disappear.
To install a web app (PWA) on an iPhone, open it in Safari, tap the Share button, and choose Add to Home Screen. On Android, open it in Chrome and tap the Install prompt, or open the ⋮ menu and choose Add to home screen (sometimes labeled “Install app”). Either way you get a real icon, the app opens in its own window without browser bars, and — if the app supports it — it keeps working offline. No app store, no download queue, no 200 MB.
What does installing a PWA actually get you?
A PWA (progressive web app) is a website built to behave like an app. Installing it doesn't copy a package from a store — it pins the app to your phone with a few real upgrades:
- An icon on your home screen, next to your other apps, instead of a tab lost among forty others.
- Its own window — the app opens standalone, without the address bar and browser buttons.
- Offline support, if the app is built for it. Deudin, for example, is offline-first: you can read and record expenses with no signal, and changes sync when it returns.
- Push notifications, where the app offers them — on iPhone this specifically requires installing first (more below).
- Automatic updates — you always open the current version; there is nothing to update manually.
We'll use Deudin as the running example since that's the install we get asked about, but the steps are identical for any PWA.
How do you install a PWA on iPhone?
- Open the web app in Safari. This matters: on iOS, only Safari can add a PWA to the home screen.
- Tap the Share button — the square with an arrow pointing up, at the bottom of the screen (or next to the address bar on iPad).
- Scroll down the share sheet and tap Add to Home Screen.
- Adjust the name if you want, then tap Add.
The icon appears on your home screen and the app now opens full-screen, like any other app. One iOS-specific note: since iOS 16.4, web apps installed to the home screen can send push notifications — but only installed ones. If a web app asks to notify you and the option seems missing on your iPhone, the cause is almost always that it's running in a Safari tab instead of from a home-screen icon.
How do you install a PWA on Android?
- Open the web app in Chrome.
- If the site is installable, Chrome usually offers it on its own — an Install banner at the bottom, or an install icon in the address bar. Tap it and confirm.
- No prompt? Tap the ⋮ menu (top right) and choose Add to home screen or Install app.
- Confirm the name and tap Add/Install.
Samsung Internet, Edge and Firefox on Android offer the same thing under slightly different menu labels. Android treats installed PWAs almost exactly like store apps: they appear in the app drawer and in Settings, and notifications work the same way they do for any app.
iPhone vs Android at a glance
| iPhone (iOS) | Android | |
|---|---|---|
| Browser required | Safari only | Chrome, Samsung Internet, Edge, Firefox |
| Where the option lives | Share → Add to Home Screen | Install prompt, or ⋮ → Add to home screen |
| Push notifications | Yes, iOS 16.4+ and only if installed | Yes |
| Automatic install prompt | Never — always manual | Usually offered by the browser |
| Shows up in app list / settings | Home screen only | App drawer and Settings, like any app |
Common gotchas
- In-app browsers can't install. If you opened the link from WhatsApp, Instagram, Gmail or Facebook, you're in an embedded browser with no install option. Look for “Open in Safari” / “Open in Chrome” (usually behind a ⋯ or ⋮ menu) and install from there.
- On iOS, Chrome won't do it. Chrome on iPhone can't add PWAs to the home screen — copy the address into Safari first.
- Can't find Add to Home Screen? In Safari it's in the share sheet, below the app suggestions — scroll down. It's there for every website, installable or not.
- Private/incognito mode hides the install option in some browsers. Install from a normal window.
Removing it is just as easy
Long-press the icon and choose Delete Bookmark (iPhone) or Uninstall (Android). A PWA takes a fraction of the storage of a store app, so there's little reason to — but it's two taps, and nothing else on your phone is affected.
Questions, answered
Is installing a PWA safe?+
As safe as visiting the website itself. A PWA runs with the browser's permissions and sandbox — it can't read your files or other apps. It only gets extras like notifications if you explicitly grant them.
Does a PWA work offline?+
Only if it was built to. Many are just pinned websites; an offline-first app like Deudin keeps working fully — reading and writing — with no connection, and syncs later.
How do PWAs update?+
By themselves. Opening the app fetches the latest version when you're online — there's no store update button and no pending-updates list.
Why don't I see the install option?+
Three usual causes: you're inside an in-app browser (open in Safari/Chrome instead), you're on iOS using a browser other than Safari, or the site simply isn't installable.
Does it use a lot of storage?+
No. A typical PWA occupies a few megabytes — the app shell plus whatever data it stores locally. Deudin keeps your groups on the device precisely so they open with no signal.
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