A web browser is an application for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's screen. Browsers are used on a range of devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. By 2020, an estimated 4.9 billion people had used a browser.[1] The most-used browser is Google Chrome, with a 66% global market share on all devices, followed by Safari with 18%.[2]
A web browser is not the same thing as a search engine, though the two are often confused.[3][4] A search engine is a website that provides links to other websites. However, to connect to a website's server and display its web pages, a user must have a web browser installed.[5] In some technical contexts, browsers are referred to as user agents.
- ^ "World Internet Users Statistics and 2019 World Population Stats". www.internetworldstats.com. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ "Browser Market Share Worldwide". StatCounter. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
- ^ What is a Browser?. Google (on YouTube). 30 April 2009. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021.
Less than 8% of people who were interviewed on this day knew what a browser was.
- ^ "What is the difference between the internet, browsers, search engines and websites?". Mozilla. 17 June 2021.
Let's start by breaking down the differences between the internet, browsers, search engine, and websites. Lots of us get these four things confused with each other.
- ^ Manasa, D. (19 July 2011). "Difference Between Search Engine and Browser". differencebetween.net.