The Problem with External Links
Opening a link in the external Safari or Chrome app breaks the user's flow and often leads to them never coming back to your app. In-app browsers provide a middle ground: they look like they are part of your app, but they run in a separate process with the full power (and shared cookies) of the system browser.
SFSafariViewController (iOS)
For iOS, SFSafariViewController is the preferred way to show web content you don't own. It includes standard browser features like a progress bar, Reader mode, and "Done" button. Most importantly, it shares cookies and saved passwords with Safari, meaning users are often already logged into sites like Facebook or Twitter when they open your in-app browser.
Chrome Custom Tabs (Android)
Chrome Custom Tabs provide a similar experience on Android. They allow you to customize the toolbar color, enter/exit animations, and even add custom menu items. They pre-render the web page in the background, making it feel up to 2x faster than a standard WebView or launching the full Chrome app.
WebView vs In-App Browser
Handling App Content Interaction
Use "Deep Links" or "Universal Links" to transition the user back from the browser to specific parts of your app. For example, if the user finishes a checkout in the in-app browser, the website should redirect to yourapp://success, which your app can intercept to close the browser and show a native confirmation screen.
Performance and Security Benefits
Because these controllers run as separate processes, if the web page crashes or contains malicious code, your app remains safe. They also benefit from the OS-level optimizations for battery and data saving, ensuring that viewing external content doesn't negatively impact your app's performance metrics.