Apps that run in your browser

Pakistan's dominant car buy-and-sell marketplace — listings, seller contact, price estimates — running as "PakWheels Lite" in the browser with the full listings catalogue. The native app runs 32–67MB depending on version and region; for someone shopping for one car rather than running a dealership, that's a lot to install for what's usually a one-time purchase. Open pakwheels.com and add it to the home screen while you're car-shopping.

India-wide classifieds — jobs, property, vehicles, secondhand goods — running as "Quikr Lite" directly in the browser, same listings and messaging as the native app. Quikr itself ships the browser version under that "Lite" name, which is usually a tell that the company already knows its main app is heavier than casual, occasional browsing justifies. Open quikr.com and add it to the home screen if you're using it past a single search.

East Africa's job board — postings, applications, CV tools — the same in the browser as in the native app, without the install. Kept here for the same reason as Jobberman: job search is a bounded, occasional task, and the browser version costs nothing to try and nothing to remove when the search ends. Open brightermonday.co.ke and add it to the home screen while you're looking.

Nigeria's leading job board — listings, applications, employer profiles — usable start to finish in the browser, no account screen before you can search. The native app is a comparatively light 8–8.8MB, so the case here isn't storage; it's the same one every classifieds site makes: an app is a standing install for something most people open a handful of times while job-hunting, then not again for months. Open jobberman.com and add it to the home screen for as long as the search lasts.

Pakistan's classifieds marketplace — mobiles, vehicles, property, jobs, secondhand goods — with buyer-seller chat built in, browsable and usable entirely in a tab. The native app asks for location, camera, microphone, biometric auth and activity-recognition access on top of its 54MB download; for someone browsing classifieds occasionally rather than daily, that's a lot of standing access to grant for infrequent use. The browser version asks for exactly what a given action needs — camera only when you're actually uploading a photo — and nothing else. Open olx.com.pk, browse and message like the app, "Add to Home screen" if it's worth keeping.

India's go-to app for train PNR and running-status lookups, plus flight and bus booking — checked constantly by train travelers rather than installed and forgotten. ixigo's companion train-specific native app runs about 34MB; for a lookup someone runs a few times around a single journey, that's a real install to commit to. Open ixigo.com and add it to the home screen if you're a frequent train traveler.

Southeast Asian flight, hotel, train and bus booking, running here as "Traveloka Lite" — Traveloka's own name for this exact browser build. The native app runs 84–163MB depending on version and device architecture; Traveloka shipping a "Lite" web version at all is itself evidence the company sees the same storage argument this directory is built around. Open traveloka.com and add it to the home screen if you book more than once.

Budget-hotel booking across the Philippines and Indonesia — search, book, manage a stay — the same inventory as the native app, in the browser. The native app runs roughly 32–48MB depending on version; modest by this batch's standards, but still a dedicated install for something most travelers use a few times a year around a trip. Open reddoorz.com and add it to the home screen if you book often enough to want the shortcut.

The same booking experience as OYO's native apps, running straight in the browser — same India-wide budget-hotel inventory, same booking flow. OYO built this after their own data showed people uninstalling the 60MB native app purely over storage, which is exactly the constraint a cheap Android phone runs into. OYO does also publish a tiny 850KB version of this same web app through the Play Store — but that's still a Play Store visit and a Google account. This page skips that step entirely: no store, no account prompt, no install screen, just the browser. "Add to Home screen" turns it into an ordinary-looking icon if it's worth keeping.

Nigerian banking app behind the ubiquitous Moniepoint POS terminals, now also a personal and business banking product — accounts, payments, loans, all in the browser. Reported native app sizes range from roughly 47MB to 184MB across the separate personal and business apps and their versions — among the heavier apps in this batch, which is the entire case for trying the browser version first on a storage-constrained phone. Open moniepoint.com and add it to the home screen once it's your primary account.

International money transfer — bank deposit, cash pickup, mobile wallet top-up — covering the corridors this beachhead cares about most: Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Philippines, India, Pakistan. The native app runs roughly 191MB, which is a heavy ask for something most senders use a few times a month rather than daily. Open worldremit.com, start a transfer, and add it to the home screen if you send money regularly.

Nigerian neobank — accounts, transfers, savings, loans — regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria, running in the browser with the same account access as the native app. This is one of the heavier browser shells in this batch, so the case for it isn't storage — it's for a phone or moment where installing a banking app isn't an option at all: a borrowed device, a work computer, a first look before committing to the native install. Open kuda.com and sign in; add it to the home screen if it becomes a habit.

South Africa's best-known food and grocery delivery service (rebranded from the long-established Mr Delivery), running the same ordering flow in the browser. The native app runs about 31MB; modest by this batch's standards, but still a dedicated install for something most people use a few times a month. Open mrd.com and add it to the home screen if you order regularly.

One of India's most recognized food-delivery brands — restaurant search, ordering, delivery tracking — the same catalogue in the browser as the native app. Reported native app sizes vary 44–105MB across recent versions; the browser version skips the install for someone ordering occasionally rather than daily. Open zomato.com and add it to the home screen if it becomes a habit.

Food and grocery delivery from Bolt — already the dominant ride-hailing brand in these cities, so users searching "Bolt" for a ride are one tap from its delivery sibling. The native delivery app runs about 98MB; the browser version orders the same catalogue without the install. Open food.bolt.eu and add it to the home screen if you order more than once.

Classic number-placement puzzle — no stakes, no currency mechanic — running in the browser at the same domain that's also the generic term people search. The browser shell loads at about 139KB with a 192px icon (enough to satisfy Chrome's install prompt, though there's no larger icon for a sharper home-screen image). Open sudoku.com and add it to the home screen.

The most name-searched chess platform worldwide — play, learn, puzzles — running the same board in the browser as the native app. Worth knowing before this goes live: the manifest sets prefer_related_applications, which can lead Chrome to nudge toward the native app instead of prompting to install this one — the browser version still works and "Add to Home Screen" from the menu still installs it, it just may not surface as a banner. Open chess.com and add it to the home screen from the browser menu.

The number-merging puzzle game people recognize by name after seeing it on a friend's phone — no wagering, no loot mechanic, no currency of any kind. The browser shell loads in under 5KB — there is effectively no storage argument against it. Open play2048.co and add it to the home screen.

AI symptom-checker with organic recognition across markets independent of any single country's health system — describe symptoms, get a structured assessment, decide whether to seek care. The native app runs about 62MB; the browser version is a reasonable way to try a symptom check once before deciding whether it's worth installing. Open ada.com and add it to the home screen if you use it regularly.

Household name in India for ordering medicines and booking lab tests and teleconsults, running as "TATA 1mg Lite" directly in the browser. The native app runs 25–67MB depending on version — a real install to grant for what's often a single prescription refill. Open 1mg.com and add it to the home screen if you're a repeat customer.

India's find-and-book-a-doctor app — search, appointments, teleconsultation — running the full booking flow in the browser. The native app runs 75–121MB depending on version; for someone booking one appointment rather than managing ongoing care, that's a real cost to install and remove afterward. Open practo.com and add it to the home screen if you use it more than once.

Cloud gaming service streaming a full Windows PC to any device — a second entry in the one category the content policy still permits store-restricted apps into, alongside the already-listed Xbox Cloud Gaming. The native app runs about 28MB; either way, the point of cloud gaming is that the games themselves never touch local storage. Open shadow.tech and add it to the home screen.

Streams full Xbox console games straight into a browser tab — nothing installed, no console or gaming PC required at home. Built for a phone with neither the storage nor the horsepower to run these games natively. Microsoft has never shipped a native app for cloud streaming on Android or iOS — the browser isn't a workaround, it's the only way in on either platform. Needs an active Xbox Game Pass subscription for most titles (a handful of free-to-play games work with just a Microsoft account). Open xbox.com/play, sign in, and "Add to Home screen" turns it into an ordinary-looking app icon — no Play Store visit, no APK.

Sony Pictures Networks India's official streaming service — originals, Hollywood titles, and live cricket exclusive to the platform. The native app runs about 49MB; the browser version streams the same catalogue without the install. Open sonyliv.com and add it to the home screen for match season.

Tencent's international streaming service for Chinese, Korean and Thai drama and anime, licensed and official — not a fansub or aggregator site — with real traction among Filipino audiences following Asian dramas. The native app runs about 127MB; the browser version streams the same catalogue without the install. Open wetv.vip and add it to the home screen if you're a regular viewer.

Heavily advertised K-12 and JEE/NEET tutoring brand — live classes, doubt-solving — the same sessions in the browser as the native app. The native app requires about 93MB of device storage, again a seasonal cost for most students rather than a permanent one. Worth knowing before this goes live: the manifest sets prefer_related_applications, the same install-prompt-softening flag as Chess.com and X — "Add to Home Screen" from the browser menu still installs it. Open vedantu.com and add it to the home screen for as long as you're enrolled in a course.

One of India's most-searched exam-prep brands — live classes and test series for competitive exams (UPSC, SSC, banking, JEE/NEET) — running the same courses in the browser. The native app runs about 77MB, a real ask for a service most students use intensively for a few months around a specific exam. Open unacademy.com and add it to the home screen for exam season.

Quick photo editing — filters, collages, background removal — from a well-known standalone editing brand. The native app runs about 77MB; the browser version only asks for camera or storage access when an edit actually calls for them. Open pixlr.com and add it to the home screen if you edit often enough to want the shortcut.

Full photo editor that opens and saves native Photoshop (.psd) files, free, browser-only by design — there is no official native app (Play Store listings under this name are unaffiliated clones). The browser shell loads in about 15KB — about as close to "free" as a real editing tool gets on a constrained connection. Open photopea.com and add it to the home screen.

Free PDF merge, split, and compress tools under a standalone brand people search for by that exact name. The browser shell loads at about 30KB — one of the lightest tools in the whole corpus — and needs no install for what's usually a one-off task like combining two documents. Open tools.pdf24.org and add it to the home screen if you use it often enough to want the shortcut.

A specifically-branded to-do list app people hear about by name — word of mouth, "best to-do apps" roundups — rather than a generic task manager. The native app runs about 34MB; the browser version is the identical task list without the install. Open todoist.com/app and add it to the home screen.

Philippines-wide online marketplace — electronics, fashion, groceries, flash sales — running the same catalogue and checkout as the native app, entirely in a tab. The native Shopee app runs 105–131MB depending on version; the browser version needs no install at all. For someone comparison-shopping occasionally rather than browsing daily, that's real standing storage to commit just to look at listings. Open shopee.ph and add it to the home screen if it's worth keeping.

Konga's browser storefront covers the same catalogue as its native app — electronics, phones, fashion, groceries, home appliances — with the same sign-in and checkout. The native app is 64MB and asks for 22 permissions up front, before a single purchase; the browser version asks for nothing until an action actually needs it. For occasional shopping rather than daily use, that's a lot of standing access to grant for the sake of trying it once. No download before the first purchase, and nothing left behind if it turns out not to be a habit — "Add to Home screen" from the browser menu if it is.

Image and idea discovery and bookmarking — recipes, fashion, home ideas — no matching feature, purely a save-and-browse product. The native app runs about 28MB; the browser version needs no install just to browse and save. The manifest ships a 192px icon but no larger one, so the home-screen icon will look a touch softer than most in this batch. Open pinterest.com and add it to the home screen.

Breaking news, trending topics and sports scores in a feed format recognized worldwide by name — no romantic-matching feature, a public feed rather than a social app in the dating sense. The native app runs about 79MB. Worth knowing before this goes live: the manifest sets prefer_related_applications, the same install-prompt-softening flag as Chess.com — "Add to Home Screen" from the browser menu still installs it. Open x.com and add it to the home screen from the browser menu.

Multi-sport live scores and news covering football and cricket, relevant across every beachhead market. The native app runs 47–74MB depending on source and asks for location, camera and storage access — notably heavy for an app whose entire job is showing a scoreline. The browser version shows the same scores without any of it. Open 365scores.com and add it to the home screen.

Live football scores, checked habitually and repeatedly rather than opened once — strong following across Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. The native app runs 15–40MB depending on version/region. Worth knowing: the browser shell here loads about 700KB — worth weighing against the storage argument, though still far lighter than the native install. Open flashscore.com and add it to the home screen.

One of the most recognized currency-conversion brands, useful across every beachhead market that sends or receives remittances. The native app runs about 76MB; the browser version does the same conversion without the install. The manifest tops out at a 256px icon, no 512px one, so the home-screen icon will look a touch softer than most in this batch. Open xe.com and add it to the home screen.

A distinctly-named professional weather forecast, commonly recommended by name rather than searched as "weather app". The native app runs 41–58MB depending on source; the browser shell loads at about 8KB, essentially free to check on a metered connection. Open windy.com and add it to the home screen.

Free book lending and reading catalogue — over 3 million titles, borrow and read online — running the same catalogue in the browser as its (also browser-wrapped) native listing. Worth knowing before this goes live: this is the only books-and-reading candidate this pass turned up with a working manifest, and it reads as more of a developed-market researcher/bibliophile destination than something a low-end-Android user would search for by name first — included to give the category a real member rather than leaving it empty, but it's the weakest by-name fit in this set. Open openlibrary.org and add it to the home screen.

The full Telegram client running entirely in the browser — chats, media, calls — synced to the same cloud account as the native app. It matters most on a shared or managed device: a work computer, a school lab machine, a borrowed phone, anywhere installing your own app isn't an option or isn't allowed. Open the link, log in with the phone number, and "Add to Home screen" turns it into an ordinary-looking app icon that leaves no native install behind when you're done with the device.

Adaptive maths, physics and chemistry practice cited directly by South African high schools for Matric exam prep — instant marking, step-by-step solutions, past papers. The Play Store listing for this app is itself a wrapped version of the same site rather than a separately built native app, so there's no separate download to skip — the browser version is simply the product. Open siyavula.com and add it to the home screen for exam season.

Kenya's National Transport and Safety Authority — driving license renewal, vehicle registration, traffic fine payment — the official government portal, not one of the unofficial third-party "NTSA app" listings that also circulate. Most tax, ID and utility-payment portals checked across every beachhead country this pass had no installable web version at all; this is the one government service that does. Open ntsa.go.ke and add it to the home screen.

Offline-capable turn-by-turn navigation and maps, positioned as a data-light alternative to apps that assume a constant connection. The native app runs about 80MB and asks for location, Bluetooth, network state and notification permissions up front; the browser version is a thin app shell (~1KB) that only asks for location when you actually navigate. Worth knowing before this goes live: the manifest sets prefer_related_applications, the same install-prompt-softening flag as Chess.com and X — "Add to Home Screen" from the browser menu still installs it. Open wego.here.com and add it to the home screen — useful precisely when data or storage is the constraint.

Remittance app built specifically around US/UK/EU-to-Africa and to-Philippines corridors — recipients in Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria and the Philippines are routinely told "you'll get paid via Sendwave" by a sender abroad. The native app runs 81–143MB across recent versions; the browser version lets a one-time recipient check or receive a transfer without installing anything to receive money once. Open sendwave.com and add it to the home screen if the transfers keep coming.

Default destination for young Nigerian and Ghanaian listeners downloading and discovering street and mixtape releases — licensed directly with all three major labels (Warner since 2019, later Universal and Sony) alongside independent-artist uploads, not an unlicensed rip site. The native app runs about 70MB. Worth knowing: the browser shell here loads about 1.3MB on first visit, the heaviest in this whole batch — worth weighing against the storage argument that motivates the rest of this directory. Open audiomack.com and add it to the home screen if the trade-off is still worth it for you.

South Africa's largest news brand, searched directly by name for national news — the same articles and video in the browser as the native app, without the install. Open news24.com and add it to the home screen.

The free encyclopedia, running its own dedicated web-app build rather than a generic mobile page — near-universal name recognition across every beachhead market. The native app runs about 51MB; the browser version is functionally identical for reading and searching articles, without the install. Worth knowing before this goes live: the manifest's one icon is 160px, below the 192px most sites ship (though above Chrome's stated 144px floor) — the install-to-home-screen icon may look slightly softer than the rest of this batch. Open en.wikipedia.org and add it to the home screen.

Bus, train and ferry ticket booking across Southeast Asia — routes, schedules, tickets — the same booking flow as the native app, in the browser. The native app runs about 53MB, a real cost for something most travelers use only around a specific trip rather than daily. Open 12go.asia and add it to the home screen for the length of a trip.