Kiwi Browser developer released the source code of your browser

The developer of the mobile web browser "Kiwi" unveiled the news about your decision to perform the total opening of all the source code of the project. The Kiwi browser, gained a lot of popularity because it became one of the only browsers that support extensions on Android.

For those who do not know the browser Kiwi web, they should know that eIt is built on the basis of Chromium, but unlike other browsers, Kiwi has various features that make it unique, such as: an advertising blocker, “Cryptojacking protection, blocking invasive trackers, deactivating AMP, playing videos and music even when the screen is off.

About Kiwi Browser

Kiwi offers a variety of quite useful functions, as well as a familiar and intuitive interface. But it also adds some things that Google has not been able to incorporate (or simply did not want).

For example, Kiwi Browser was the first browser Chromium-based on Android that supports Chrome extensions, was also one of the first to offer a dedicated night mode as well, but it also omits a number of less popular Google "features."

Kiwi can work on Android 4.1 devices (compared to Firefox Preview which requires Android 5) and also highlights some other features of this mobile web browser.

  • The ability to install plugins from the Chrome Webstore and use them on a mobile device.
  • Customizable night mode optimized for AMOLED displays.
  • Mode to place the address bar at the bottom of the screen.
  • Additional rendering speed optimization, such as partial page rasterization.
  • The ability to use Facebook Web Messenger through m.facebook.com without having to install the Facebook mobile app.
  • The confidentiality mode that does not save cookies, is not reflected in the browsing history, is not installed in the browser's cache and blocks the creation of screenshots.
  • Customizable home page where you can place arbitrary site shortcuts.
  • Ability to disable support for AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) technology.
  • Settings to block notifications and a code to track visitors.

Code released

Regarding the decision that particular that the code has been opened, is in order to support other developments and also to guarantee launch in mobile device add-ons written for the desktop version of Chrome.

The full source code of the browser is now available on Github and uses the same three-clause BDS license as Chromium. In other words, it can be forked right away, but the developer also encourages other people to help with the development.

The most interesting element here is the custom code that makes the extensions work on Android.

It is noted that manufacturers of other mobile browsers can use the code already implemented in Kiwi for advanced functionality. For Kiwi, opening the code is of interest in terms of attracting outside developers to work on the project and build a community.

The repository on GitHub is now considered as a reference and is used directly to develop and build other builds.

The Kiwi Browser developer indicates that:

«In the last weeks I have worked with other browsers to help them integrate the functionality of Kiwi

Maintaining such an ambitious project has proven to be a challenge for the lone developer. The latest version of Kiwi Browser on the Google Play Store is based on Chromium version 77.0.3865.92, which is far behind the upcoming Chromium version 83 that Google is planning. Rather than let the project go to waste, arnaud42 has decided to release the Kiwi Browser source code on GitHub «.

Finally, it should be noted that Kiwi is not the first browser to offer support for Chromium extensions on Android, as Yandex has been offering them for a long time and Samsung Internet offers a small selection of Galaxy phones.

For those interested in reviewing the source code of this mobile web browser, you can go to the following link.

Source: https://www.xda-developers.com/


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