tools

In-app browser detector — find out which webview you're trapped in

the linkboo team·6 min read·updated Mon Jun 01 2026 17:00:00 GMT-0700 (Pacific Daylight Time)
On this page

this tells you which webview you're trapped in. it does not judge.

what this tool does

Loads, reads the User-Agent string of whatever browser you're currently inside, and tells you — with no inputs required — exactly which one it is. If you're in TikTok's in-app browser, it says so. If you're in Instagram's, Threads', Messenger's, Snapchat's, LinkedIn's, Pinterest's, Reddit's, Twitter/X's, or Facebook's — it says so. If you're in your real browser (Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Brave, Arc), it says so. Then it offers you a one-tap link out — opening the current page (or any URL you point it at) in your default system browser, where your cookies, your sessions, and your saved payment methods actually live.

There is no input field. There is no submit button. The detector reads the request the moment the page loads and shows you the answer.

why this matters

Every browser on your phone keeps its own cookie jar. Safari can't see Chrome's. Chrome can't see Safari's. TikTok's in-app browser can't see either. When a viewer lands on a destination from inside an in-app browser, that destination treats them as a logged-out stranger — even if they were logged in two minutes ago in their real browser. We named the underlying mechanism: it's the in-app browser logged-out problem, and it's quietly costing every creator with a bio link somewhere between 30% and 70% of would-be conversions.

The first step in fixing it is naming what's happening. Most viewers don't know they're inside a webview at all — they tapped a link, a page loaded, the page looked normal. They have no mental model for why their Amazon cart is empty or why their Spotify pre-save silently failed. This tool gives them that mental model in one second, in one card: you are inside TikTok's in-app browser. Here is a link out.

For creators and developers, the detector is diagnostic. Drop the URL into a phone screenshot, send it to a confused viewer, paste it into a help ticket — the result is unambiguous evidence of which webview shipped the request. No more "are you sure you weren't in Safari already?" debugging.

For us, it's the front door. Once a visitor knows there's a name for the problem, they're ready to read why their TikTok bio link logs people out, or how to escape TikTok's in-app browser, or — if they're sending traffic to a specific destination — the destination-specific fix for Amazon, OnlyFans, Spotify, Shopify, Substack, or wherever they're losing viewers.

what you'll see

When you land on this page (once the tool ships):

  1. Auto-detection card, dead-center. No form. No "click here to start." The card already knows. It reads something like: You're inside the TikTok in-app browser. Or: You're in Safari (iOS 17.5). Or: You're inside Instagram's webview.
  2. Verdict line. A single sentence underneath the result naming what this means for the viewer. If they're in an in-app browser: "Bio links you tap from here will log you out from sites where you were logged in. Tap below to fix this for the current page." If they're in a regular browser: "You're set. Your cookies are here. Bio links you tap from here will work as expected."
  3. The escape button. Visible only if you're in an in-app browser. Big, single-purpose: "Open this page in Safari →" (or Chrome, depending on platform). Tapping it triggers the same escape mechanism linkboo uses on every short link — detecting the in-app browser and handing the visitor off to their device's real browser automatically.
  4. Detected User-Agent string. Collapsed by default, expandable for the curious. Shows the raw UA, parsed into browser / OS / device / webview-type / version. The same data devs need when filing a bug or building their own detection.
  5. Embed-code block. Underneath the result, a copyable snippet: a single <script> tag (or one-line iframe) that drops a detection badge on any page. When a visitor lands on your site from inside an in-app browser, the badge appears in the corner — "You're inside TikTok. Tap to open in Safari →" — branded powered by linkboo, with the brand link pointing back to this page. Free for any site to use. First 1,000 emails get unbranded embeds.
  6. Test-it-on-another-URL field. Below the embed block — a text input where you can paste a URL and run the same detection against an arbitrary page, useful for dev debugging.

The page does one thing in one card. Per our editorial standard, the tool talks once at the top and otherwise lets the result speak.

who this is for

Creators trying to figure out why their bio-link conversion rate is bad. Open this page from inside your TikTok bio link, get an unambiguous answer, send your viewers the explanation.

Developers building any kind of mobile flow that depends on a session cookie — affiliate links, OAuth pre-saves, Shopify checkout, paywalled subscribes — who need a fast way to confirm "yes, this request came from a webview, not Safari."

Agencies auditing client funnels. Drop the detector into a client's bio chain, prove the in-app browser is in the path, justify the migration to linkboo.

Anyone curious what the device they're holding is actually doing when they tap a link. We didn't build this for marketers. We built it for people who deserve to know.

currently in development

We're building this. The detection logic is live in linkboo's link-redirect path already — every linkboo short link runs it before serving the destination. We're surfacing it as a standalone tool with the embeddable badge as the next ship.

Drop your email to get notified when the detector ships — first 1,000 emails get embed access free.

Get notified →

The embed is the part that compounds. Drop the badge on your own landing page, your Shopify store, your blog, your Substack — every time a visitor lands inside an in-app browser, the badge surfaces, offers them an escape, and quietly attributes the recovery back to linkboo. Branded powered by linkboo, pointing here. Permanent acquisition touchpoint that costs you nothing and gives your visitors a way out of the cookie-jar trap they didn't know they were in.

in the meantime

If you need to detect an in-app browser today, before this tool ships:

  • Read the User-Agent string yourself. TikTok's webview includes BytedanceWebview and platform-specific markers; Instagram's includes Instagram followed by a version string; Messenger's includes FBAN/FBIOS or FB_IAB. The TikTok in-app browser user-agent guide lays out the full strings for engineers who want to roll their own detection.
  • Use one of the open-source detector libraries. inapp-spy on npm covers the major webviews and gets regular updates from the community.
  • Just look at the URL bar. In-app browsers usually show the source platform's chrome (a TikTok logo, an Instagram avatar, a Messenger send button) instead of a clean address bar. If you don't see a normal aA button or address field on iOS, you're in a webview.

Continue reading:

Fix a specific destination:

Related tools:

For developers:

keep reading

guidesThe in-app browser logged-out problemRead →guidesWhy does my TikTok link log people out? (the creator's guide)Read →guidesThe TikTok in-app browser, explained (and why your bio link behaves weirdly inside it)Read →

Stop losing the click after the tap.

linkboo escapes the in-app browser so your real page loads — fast.

Start for free →