Amazon released a “lite” version of a web browser for Android and called it Internet.
Amazon quietly released a web browser designed to consume less space on Android devices. Installing it will only take up 2MB of your storage space.
The browser, simply called Internet, was actually already available in the Google Play app store since March. It is not known why the retail giant has not publicly announced the launch.
According to the app’s description, the browser offers a private user experience as it does not collect any private data. This could be an attempt to take on other browsers like Firefox who also offer private browsing.
Additionally, the browser supports Private Tabs allowing users to surf the internet without having to worry about their browsing history.
Other features include tab previews, automatic full-screen mode and integrated news reader.
TechCrunch first spotted the app on Google Play and its feedback email points to Amazon India hinting that it could be meant for Indian users only. The listing shows that the app works with Android 5.0 and above. However, folks from Gadgets360 (India) were not able to download it on their devices running on Android 7.0.
Amazon is not the only company who has built “lite” versions of apps to cater to limited storage space and connectivity. Facebook has Facebook Lite and Messenger Light, while Google has their “Go” versions of the browser, YouTube, Files, etc. All these offer the same feature of the full apps but takes up less space.
