Android WebView user agent
Android WebView is the embedded browser component native apps use to show web content in-app. Its user agent is Chrome-like but includes a wv token, signalling the request came from inside an app rather than a standalone Chrome. This page explains the pattern and why WebView traffic is a distinct context.
The WebView UA pattern
Android WebView is the system component that lets a native app render web pages without opening a separate browser. Its user agent looks like mobile Chrome — Mozilla prefix, Android descriptor, AppleWebKit and Chrome tokens — but adds a wv token (short for WebView) inside the parenthesised section.
The wv token is the cue that the page is being shown inside an app rather than in the standalone Chrome browser.
- Chrome-like Android user agent with an added wv token
- wv signals rendering inside a native app's WebView
- Distinct context from the standalone Chrome browser
Why the WebView context matters
WebView traffic behaves differently from a full browser: the host app controls navigation, and the experience is shaped by that app rather than by a browser chrome. For analytics, knowing a session came through a WebView explains capabilities and behaviour that would look odd if you assumed standalone Chrome.
Match on the stable wv token rather than a full version string, and confirm specifics against Android's WebView documentation since UA detail evolves across versions.
How it appears in analytics and logs
A user agent with Chrome and Android tokens plus a wv token is Android WebView — web content rendered inside a native app. It indicates an in-app context, not a visit through the standalone Chrome browser.
Diagnostic use case
Recognise Android in-app WebView traffic by its wv token so you can tell embedded-app browsing apart from standalone mobile Chrome.
What WebmasterID can help detect
WebmasterID recognises the Android WebView wv token server-side and records a coarse in-app browser category, so embedded app traffic is not conflated with standalone Chrome.
Common mistakes
- Counting Android WebView sessions as standalone mobile Chrome.
- Missing the wv token and mis-attributing in-app browsing.
- Hard-coding a full WebView version string that changes across releases.
Privacy and accuracy notes
The WebView user agent describes the rendering component and device class, not a person. WebmasterID stores a coarse browser/context category, not a real visitor's raw string.
Related pages
- iOS in-app browser user agents
When a link opens inside an iOS app's embedded browser, the page renders with WebKit but the user agent often lacks the trailing Safari token that standalone Safari carries. That missing-Safari-token quirk, sometimes with an app-specific marker, is the clue that you are seeing in-app browsing on iOS rather than Safari.
- Mobile user agents: phones, tablets, in-app
Mobile user agents carry platform descriptors like iPhone or Android and often a Mobile token, but tablets and in-app browsers complicate the picture. An in-app browser (inside a social or messaging app) usually adds its own token to the string. This page explains the patterns and their pitfalls.
- Bot vs human traffic
Separate real visits, including in-app browsing, from automation.
Sources and verification notes
Last reviewed 2026-06-24. Facts are checked against primary/official sources where available; uncertain specifics are marked “Data not yet verified” rather than guessed.