dinkin/nativealphaforandroid

Native Alpha

Features

• Show any website in a borderless full-screen window using Android System WebView.
• Offers to create home screen shortcuts and retrieves icons in suitable resolution.
• Various settings (JavaScript, Cookies, 3rd party Cookies, Adblocking, location access) can be set for every web app individually
• Navigation with multi-touch gestures while browsing.
• Opt-in adblock using an AdBlock Plus custom webview.
• Less memory footprint and no privacy-invading app permissions in comparison to native apps
• Dark mode for Android 10+

Download Options

Latest Changes (v1.01)

Hotfix release(v1.01):

• Fixed an issue where Web Apps were forcefully displayed in Dark Mode when the app itself was in Dark Mode.

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• Added option to control Google Safe Browsing usage
• Added option to ignore SSL errors for single Web Apps (hidden in expert settings)
• Pages are no longer reloaded if you switch between portrait and landscape mode
• New settings model: You can use a set of Web App Settings globally for all Web Apps and override this set for single apps if necessary
• UI overhaul for global and Web App settings
• Greatly reduced APK size by not including x86 libs
• Several minor fixes

FAQ

Q: Why would I need this app if any mobile browser can do the same?

A: Mobile browsers usually only are able to create shortcuts which give a native, borderless fullscreen experience if the website has a Progressive Web App (PWA) manifest. Unfortunately, most websites do not offer this feature yet. Additionally, you cannot set different settings for different websites with an usual browser.

Q: Is this a web browser?

A: No. As stated, this app relies on the system built-in Android WebView in order to display the website. For privacy reasons, you can opt to use alternative webviews such as Bromite on rooted phones. Always make sure to use to most recent version of any WebView implementation you use!

Q: Why is it not possible to find an icon for a certain website?

A: This problem can occur due to multiple reasons. In most cases, the website does not offer a high-resolution icon. If you are a website maintainer and your website icon cannot be found, look at RealFaviconGenerator for further information. If you think it should work, feel free to post the URL and I will look into it.

Q: In constrast to your promise, this app has a large memory footprint!

A: This is because Native Alpha makes use of caching in the same way your browser app does, i.e., it saves web content locally on your device. Then it can be loaded faster if you visit the same page again. I will look into a way for better cache management. In the meantime, you can either delete cache regularly yourself or set the "Clear cache after usage" setting in the global settings if memory footprint is a concern for you. However, then websites will take a longer time to load because everything has to be loaded from net.

Used libraries/resources

• CircularProgressBar
• JSoup
• AboutPage
• AdBlock+WebView
• MovableFloatingActionButton
• Android About Page
• Android Databinding
• AboutLibraries

For testing purposes:

• Robolectric
• Espresso

A list of used open-source libraries can also be found inside the app ("About" section).

Screenshots

License

Native Alpha is Free Software: You can use, study share and improve it at your will. Specifically you can redistribute and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

End User License Agreement

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.