Installing too many apps on your phone not only slows it down, but also makes it less battery efficient. Many of the apps also ask for invasive permissions, making them a privacy nightmare. One way around all of that is to launch a browser and use the websites instead of the apps, but that's not always a very efficient solution. So today, we're going to show you how you can turn virtually any website into a native Android app with full functionality, including a dark mode, full-screen interface, and more.
Turn any website into a 'Lite' Android app
There are various applications in Google Play Store that allow you to convert third-party websites into native Android apps. We will use three of them for our demonstration today. The first, called Hermit, is probably the best known app in the segment and is also the most feature rich by far. In addition, we will also use an open source application called Native Alpha which has to be downloaded from Github. Finally, we'll also show you how to use the good old Google Chrome to make Android apps from websites. So without further ado, let's get started.
Note: Services that don't have fully functional websites won't magically gain native app functionality using the methods described below. For example, Instagram doesn't allow you to upload images to its website, which means the app you create will be similarly hampered as well..
Application 1: Hermit; Developer: Chimbori
As of now, the best way to turn a website into a mobile app is an app called Hermit (Free). It is available for free download on the Google Play Store. Almost all the relevant features including app building, dark mode, ad blocking, full screen UI, etc. are available in the free version. Some advanced features, such as scriptlets, tags, content blocker, and custom user agent, however, are behind a paywall.
- Hermit allows you to create an Android app two ways: either by selecting a lightweight 'out of the box' app from the existing app inventory or by manually entering a URL.
Ready-to-use applications
- Tap on the "+” in the top bar to see the entire library of lightweight applications. Now scroll down to check all available apps and select the one you want. I am using Wikipedia for demonstration purposes.
- Once you create the Wikipedia lite app, it will be visible on the Hermit home page and there will also be a shortcut on the phone home page. You can tap on any of the shortcuts to launch your lite app.
- To use dark mode for the newly created lite app, turn it on and press the gear icon (Settings menu) at the top right. now touch the Dark mode in the lower right corner of the slide-out panel. The Android app will reload in all its dark-themed glory.
Note: Remember to change the system theme to dark (Settings > More settings > Theme > Dark) to see all settings pages and menus in dark mode.
Create a Lite app for any website
You can also turn any website into a lightweight Android app using Hermit. We're using Beebom as an example, and here's how it does it:
- Enter your destination URL in the search bar at the bottom and press Enter. Once the site loads, tap the gear icon in the top right corner.
- In the slideout menu, tap Create a lightweight app. You will have the option to select the name of the application and edit its URL before finalizing your choice. You can also choose to add a shortcut to the home screen using the checkbox [1]. Finally, click on Create [2].
- The Beebom web app will be added to the Hermit home screen, as well as your device's home screen, if you chose that option in the last step. You will be able to launch the application from any of the shortcuts.
Hermit is a feature packed app and works great for the most part. It offers a dark mode option, a borderless full-screen UI, and even a built-in ad blocker, all of which can be customized for each lite app separately. It does have some bugs though, and in my experience you may need to try certain options two or three times before they work as advertised.
Android App 2: Native Alpha; Developer: Cyclonid
Native Alpha is an open source Android app that can turn any website into an Android app in seconds. Created by developer Cyclonid, it uses the built-in Android WebView to display the website. For privacy reasons, you can use alternative web views, such as Bromite, on rooted devices. Native Alpha is still in its pre-release phase and has not yet been hosted on the Play Store. You can download it from Github (Free) on your Android phone.
Note: Native Alpha is compatible only with Android Oreo and newer versions. The developer says support for older versions is in the works, but there's no ETA for that yet..
- The first time you launch Native Alpha, you will be prompted to add a URL to create your first web application. Write the Destination Website URL. To have a shortcut for the lite app on your home screen, keep the switch to 'On' [1] and tap OK [2].
Note: You can create lightweight web apps at any time by tapping the red button «+”in the bottom right corner of the app home page.
- The app will automatically download a high resolution icon if the website offers one. If not, press Set custom icon to add an icon of your choice from your gallery or your installed icon pack. Press OK > Add once you're done.
- You will now see your new Beebom Lite app shortcut on your phone's home screen as well as on the Native Alpha home page.
Still in its pre-release phase, Native Alpha is missing some of Hermit's features, including dark mode and full screen UI. However, there is an experimental ad blocker that is “Off” by default, but can be turned on from settings. All said and done, Native Alpha is less buggy than Hermit, and the features it offers are more polished. The app is under active development and the version I used, v0.85.1, was released on January 30, 2021. So let's hope the developer adds other cool features as soon as possible.
Application 3: Google Chrome; Developer: Google
do you know that even Google Chrome for Android allows you to (more or less) create a lightweight Android app from many websites? That's right, Google's all-conquering browser can create lightweight apps for websites that have a built-in Progressive Web App (PWA) manifest. This is how you do it:
- Open Chrome and go to the website you want to create a shortcut for (lite app). Then tap the menu button (three points) at the top left. Finally, in the slider panel, select Add to the home screen.
Note: This will only work in normal tabs and not in incognito mode.
- You'll have the option to enter a name for the shortcut before Chrome adds it to your home screen.
Note: You can create website shortcuts on Android devices in the same way as with other popular web browsers, including Firefox..
Note that while the lite apps created by Native Alpha and Hermit work as stand-alone apps (more like website wrappers), the shortcuts created by Chrome work like a browser tab rather than a stand-alone app. Either way, it's still a great option, especially if you can't be bothered to install another app on your phone.
Create an Android app from websites to save storage space and improve privacy
Turning websites into apps means you no longer have to grant any intrusive permissions to run these services on your phone. They also won't run in the background, sending your private data to their servers and consuming battery power while doing so. So, use our guide above to turn websites into apps on your Android phone and let us know which method you chose and for which website. To further improve privacy on your phone, learn how you can change your privacy settings. DNS on Android.