A pragmatic approach to WebViews: fast-tracking features in mobile apps

WebViews have been around for ages, but when used strategically, they can solve real-world delivery challenges for modern product teams.

In this lightning talk, I’ll walk you through a pragmatic approach to integrate WebViews in native mobile apps and accelerate feature development without sacrificing user experience.

We’ll explore:
- When WebViews make sense (and when they don’t)
- How to create seamless, native-like experiences inside a WebView
- Best practices for communication between web and native app
- Real-world lessons from production: authentication, navigation, and flows

This talk is ideal for mobile and frontend engineers who want a lightweight, low-risk way to scale feature delivery across platforms, without revamping their entire tech stack.

Transcript

1. Droidcon Berlin September 26, 2025 A Pragmatic Approach to WebViews Fast-tracking Features in Mobile Apps
2. Avignon, France @BlaBlaCar since 2021 Patrick Brochado Senior Android Engineer
3. Who here is using WebViews in their production apps today?
4. Fast-tracking Features in Mobile Apps 🚀
5. ✅ A mobile website alternative ✅ A robust design system Prerequisites
6. Application Layer Domain Layer Android iOS SPA Presentation Layer The Roadblock We Hit 🚧 Diagnosis: We have only one way to display a feature, and it’s too costly for some use cases • Three frontend native implementations • Optimized for robustness and conversion • Not optimized for iteration mobile releases, breakings change, etc. • Significant investment and organization 3 ICs needed - one for each frontend platform Web
7. Quiz
8. WebView was added in which Android API level ?
9. A. API level 1 (Android 1.0) B. API level 3 (Android 1.5 aka Cupcake 🧁) C. API level 5 (Android 2.0 aka Eclair ⚡) D. API level 11 (Android 3.0 aka Honeycomb 🐝)
11. A Quick Refresher An industry standard • Available for Android and iOS codebase • Minimal native code required “Just” have to declare you open a webview for URL http://domain.com/my/url • UX might be not on part with native code Loading time, scrolling, quality of the web page, etc. Some actors are using webviews And many more...
12. Android iOS SPA Presentation Layer SPA Presentation Layer From: To: Android iOS The Perfect Shortcut ✂ 3 natives implementations to only 1 Android and iOS displaying feature through WebView Easy T-Shaped tasks
13. Android iOS SPA Presentation Layer SPA Presentation Layer From: To: Android iOS The Detours You'll Face ⚠ UX could be not optimal (loading time, etc) Missing device capabilities (location, bluetooth, etc) No WebView everywhere (small feature only, no critical UX)
14. Authentication Navigation Consent UI Tracking Our Roadmap 🗺
15. Backend Webview Authentication 🗝 Token A (mobile) Token B (forward)
16. Backend Webview Authentication 🗝 Token A (mobile) Token B (forward) - URL - Token B (forward) - …
17. Backend Webview Authentication 🗝 Token A (mobile) Token B (forward) Token C (webview) - URL - Token B (forward) - …
18. Backend Webview Authentication 🗝 Token A (mobile) Token B (forward) Token C (webview) Feature Request / Response - URL - Token B (forward) - …
19. Navigation 🧭
20. Navigation 🧭
21. Navigation 🧭 /ratings
22. Navigation 🧭 /ratings /profile
23. Navigation 🧭 /ratings /profile
24. Navigation 🧭 /ratings /profile
25. Quiz
26. A. Communications preferences B. Payout methods C. Ratings Which screen is using a webview?
27. A. Communications preferences B. Payout methods C. Ratings Which screen is using a webview?
28. Consent & Tracking Consent Reuse Existing Consent Tracking Uniform Tracking ID
29. Experimentation s or urgent needs Feature fallbacks Occasionally accessed features Content -heavy pages When To Use?
30. Experimentation s or urgent needs Feature fallbacks Occasionally accessed features Content -heavy pages When To Use?
31. Experimentation s or urgent needs Feature fallbacks Occasionally accessed features Content -heavy pages When To Use?
32. Experimentation s or urgent needs Feature fallbacks Occasionally accessed features Content -heavy pages When To Use?
33. Experimentation s or urgent needs Feature fallbacks Occasionally accessed features Content -heavy pages When To Use?
34. Experimentation s or urgent needs Feature fallbacks Occasionally accessed features Content -heavy pages When To Use?
35. Latency is real Be mindful of memory usage Don't expect native-like animations Content must be accessible Lessons from the Road Ahead
36. Latency is real Be mindful of memory usage Don't expect native-like animations Content must be accessible Lessons from the Road Ahead
37. Latency is real Be mindful of memory usage Don't expect native-like animations Content must be accessible Lessons from the Road Ahead
38. Latency is real Be mindful of memory usage Don't expect native-like animations Content must be accessible Lessons from the Road Ahead
39. Latency is real Be mindful of memory usage Don't expect native-like animations Content must be accessible Lessons from the Road Ahead
40. WebViews are a powerful tool Communicatio n is key Invest in a strong WebView capability Don't compromise core UX Your Route Forward!
41. WebViews are a powerful tool Communicatio n is key Invest in a strong WebView capability Don't compromise core UX Your Route Forward!
42. WebViews are a powerful tool Communicatio n is key Invest in a strong WebView capability Don't compromise core UX Your Route Forward!
43. WebViews are a powerful tool Communicatio n is key Invest in a strong WebView capability Don't compromise core UX Your Route Forward!
44. WebViews are a powerful tool Communicatio n is key Invest in a strong WebView capability Don't compromise core UX Your Route Forward!
45. WebViews are a powerful tool Communicatio n is key Invest in a strong WebView capability Don't compromise core UX Your Route Forward!
46. Any questions?