A browser that will not let you browse.
Not A Browser opens the links other apps hand it, and the URLs inside QR codes. No address bar and no search, so there is no way to start browsing from inside it. You land on the page you were sent to, do the thing, and leave.
It is, technically, a browser.
It renders pages with Android’s own engine and can hold the system’s default browser role. What it cannot do is browse.
Two ways in. That is the entire surface.
A link from another app
Tap a link in Messages, Mail, Calendar or Slack and choose Not A Browser. Set it as your default browser and the choosing stops too.
A QR code
Open the scanner, point it at a menu, a parking sign or a ticket, and the page opens. Decoded on the phone; nothing about the scan leaves it.
The features are the things that aren’t there
Most apps in this space add something: a timer, a streak, a lock you can talk yourself out of. Not A Browser subtracts, once, and the subtraction is permanent.
- No address bar. Not read-only, not hidden behind a long-press, not in a debug build.
- No search. No Google, no Bing, no in-app lookup, no AI answer box.
- No tabs, no history, no bookmarks, no home screen, no feed.
- No account, no sign-up, no sync.
If a feature would make it easier to keep browsing once you are in, it does not ship.
The app is one step. The guide is the rest.
Deleting the social apps is the easy part. The browser is the wall everyone hits, and this app is only that one step. The guide walks the rest, in order, reversible throughout.
Common questions
Will I stay signed in to sites?
Yes. A site you sign in to keeps its session here, in this app's own storage, separate from any other browser on the phone. Banking, magic links and Google sign-in all behave normally.
Can I still follow links on the page I opened?
Yes. Once you are on a page, its own links work normally, and that is still the page you were sent to. What is missing is any way to start somewhere new from inside Not A Browser.
What does Not A Browser collect?
Nothing. There are no accounts, no analytics, no stored history and no ad identifiers. QR codes are decoded on your device. That is a consequence of the product having nothing to store, not a privacy pitch.
Is there an iPhone version?
Not yet, and possibly not ever in this form. Apple grants default-browser status only to apps that offer a URL field, a search tool, or bookmark lists on launch: the three things Not A Browser deliberately removes.
Writing
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