Guidelines for Using PWA Support

Here are a few things to consider when using PWA support for your applications.

• Currently, we support the Chrome browser for Android and the Safari browser on iOS. We recommend that you use the latest available browser versions. For information on supported browser versions, review this page.

• Here are a few limitations for PWAs running on the iOS platform. These issues may be resolved in future iOS releases.

  • Install the PWA using the share icon (because the Add *`PWAappName`* to Home screen message is not displayed).

  • The PWA state is not saved between sessions. If a user exits a PWA, the app is restarted when the user returns.

  • Navigation between screens in an app is possible only by using the built-in navigation. This is because Apple devices do not have a Back button.

  • Inactive apps appear as a white screen (no splash screen support) in the task manager.

  • Some PWA configurations and behavior such as service worker cache size, cache eviction policy, and web manifest support depends on the level of support provided by the browser. Refer to your browser documentation for more information.

  • Orientation lock is not supported.

  • Deep linking is not supported. As a result, clicking a deep link URL on an Apple device will take the user to the Safari browser, instead of the PWA installed on the device.

• Periodically delete service workers and clear cache when developing PWAs. When you repeatedly deploy new versions of a PWA (in the iterative development cycle), you might run into issues with Chrome DevTools if multiple service workers are present. Here are high-level steps to do this:

  1. Click Cmd+Option+I (on Macintosh) or Ctrl+Shift+I (on Windows) to open the Chrome DevTools.

  2. Switch to the Application tab.

  3. Click Clear Storage in the left menu.

  4. Click Clear Site Data to clear the cache and unregister service workers.