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{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}
▲{{Short description|Software used to navigate the internet}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
[[File:Safari 15.png|thumb|right|A web browser ([[Safari (web browser)|Safari]]) displaying a [[web page]]]]
A '''web browser''' is an [[Application software|application]] for accessing [[website]]s. When a [[User (computing)|user]] requests a [[web page]] from a particular website, the browser retrieves its [[Computer file|files]] from a [[web server]] and then displays the page on the user's screen. Browsers are used on a range of devices, including [[desktop computer|desktops]], [[laptop]]s, [[tablet computer|tablets]], and [[smartphone]]s.
A web browser is not the same thing as a [[search engine]], though the two are often confused.<ref>{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4MwTvtyrUQ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/o4MwTvtyrUQ| archive-date=11 December 2021 |url-status=live|title=What is a Browser? |date=30 April 2009 |publisher=Google (on YouTube) |quote=Less than 8% of people who were interviewed on this day knew what a browser was.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://blog.mozilla.org/en/internet-culture/mozilla-explains/internet-search-engine-browser/ |title=What is the difference between the internet, browsers, search engines and websites? |date=17 June 2021|publisher=Mozilla |quote=Let’s start by breaking down the differences between the internet, browsers, search engine, and websites. Lots of us get these four things confused with each other.}}</ref> A search engine is a website that provides [[hyperlink|links]] to other websites. However, to connect to a website's server and display its web pages, a user must have a web browser installed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Manasa |first=D. |date=19 July 2011 |title=Difference Between Search Engine and Browser |url=http://www.differencebetween.net/technology/internet/difference-between-search-engine-and-browser/ |website=differencebetween.net}}</ref> In some technical contexts, browsers are referred to as [[user agent]]s.
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==Function==
[[File:Web browser demo.webm|thumb|Navigating to [[English Wikipedia]] using a web browser ([[Firefox]])]]
The purpose of a web browser is to fetch content from
Web pages usually contain [[hyperlink]]s to other pages and resources. Each link contains a URL, and when it is [[point and click|clicked]] or [[touchscreen|tapped]], the browser navigates to the new resource. Most browsers use an internal [[web cache|cache]] of web page resources to improve loading times for subsequent visits to the same page. The cache can store many items, such as large images, so they do not need to be downloaded from the server again. Cached items are usually only stored for as long as the web server stipulates in its HTTP response messages.<ref>{{
===Privacy===
{{Further|Web tracking}}
During the course of browsing, [[HTTP cookie|cookies]] received from various [[website]]s are stored by the browser. Some of them contain login credentials or site preferences.<ref name="tom's guide">{{cite web |title=Tracking Cookies: What They Are, and How They Threaten Your Privacy |date=16 September 2013 |url=https://www.tomsguide.com/us/-tracking-cookie-definition,news-17506.html |publisher=Tom's Guide |access-date=11 March 2019}}</ref> However, others are used for [[Web tracking|tracking user behavior]] over long periods of time, so browsers typically provide a section in the menu for deleting cookies.<ref name="tom's guide"/> Finer-grained management of cookies usually requires a [[browser extension]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Alternatives to Cookie AutoDelete extension |url=https://alternativeto.net/software/cookie-autodelete/ |publisher=AlternativeTo |access-date=11 March 2019}}</ref>▼
▲During the course of browsing, [[HTTP cookie|cookies]] received from various [[website]]s are stored by the browser. Some of them contain login credentials or site preferences.<ref name="tom's guide">{{cite web |title=Tracking Cookies: What They Are, and How They Threaten Your Privacy |date=16 September 2013 |url=https://www.tomsguide.com/us/-tracking-cookie-definition,news-17506.html |publisher=Tom's Guide |access-date=11 March 2019}}</ref>
However, others are used for tracking user behavior over long periods of time, so browsers typically provide a section in the menu for deleting cookies.<ref name="tom's guide" />
Finer-grained management of cookies usually requires a [[browser extension]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Alternatives to Cookie AutoDelete extension |url=https://alternativeto.net/software/cookie-autodelete/ |publisher=AlternativeTo |access-date=11 March 2019}}</ref>
==History==
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[[Microsoft]] debuted [[Internet Explorer]] in 1995, leading to a [[browser war]] with Netscape. Within a few years, Microsoft gained a dominant position in the browser market for two reasons: it bundled Internet Explorer with its popular [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] [[operating system]] and did so as [[freeware]] with no restrictions on usage. The market share of Internet Explorer peaked at over 95% in the early 2000s.<ref name="searchenginejournal.com">{{cite news |url=https://www.searchenginejournal.com/mozilla-firefox-internet-browser-market-share-gains-to-74/1082/ |title=Mozilla Firefox Internet Browser Market Share Gains to 7.4% | first=Loren | last=Baker | work=Search Engine Journal |date=24 November 2004}}</ref> In 1998, Netscape launched what would become the [[Mozilla Foundation]] to create a new browser using the [[open-source software]] model. This work evolved into the [[Firefox]] browser, first released by Mozilla in 2004. Firefox's market share peaked at 32% in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Routley|first=Nick|date=20 January 2020|title=Internet Browser Market Share (1996–2019)|url=https://www.visualcapitalist.com/internet-browser-market-share/|access-date=4 November 2021|website=Visual Capitalist|language=en-US}}</ref> [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] released its [[Safari (web browser)|Safari]] browser in 2003; it remains the dominant browser on Apple devices, though it did not become popular elsewhere.<ref name="browsershare">{{cite web|title=StatCounter August 2011 data|url=http://gs.statcounter.com/#browser-ww-monthly-201108-201108-bar|access-date=8 May 2021}}</ref>
[[Google]] debuted its [[Google Chrome|Chrome]] browser in 2008, which steadily took market share from Internet Explorer and became the most popular browser in 2012.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://digitaltrends-uploads-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/2011/09/net-applications-browser-market.jpg |title=Internet Explorer usage to plummet below 50 percent by mid-2012 | work=[[Digital Trends]] | date=3 September 2011 | format=[[JPEG]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://gs.statcounter.com/#browser-ww-monthly-201204-201205|title=StatCounter April-May 2012 data |access-date=8 May 2021}}</ref> Chrome has [[usage share of web browsers|remained dominant]] ever since.<ref name="statcounter" /> By 2015, Microsoft replaced Internet Explorer with [[Microsoft Edge|Edge]] for the [[Windows 10]] release.<ref
Since the early 2000s, browsers have greatly expanded their [[HTML]], [[CSS]], [[JavaScript]], and [[multimedia]] capabilities. One reason has been to enable more sophisticated websites, such as [[Web application|web apps]]. Another factor is the significant increase of [[broadband]] connectivity in [[List of sovereign states by number of broadband Internet subscriptions|many parts]] of the world, enabling people to access data-intensive content, such as [[Streaming media|streaming]] [[high-definition video|HD video]] on [[YouTube]], that was not possible during the era of [[Dial-up Internet access|dial-up modems]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Dial-Up Internet Today: Understanding Its Lasting Influence |url=https://simeononsecurity.com/articles/modem-magic_-how-dial-up-internet-works-and-its-legacy-today/ |website=SimeonOnSecurity |access-date=21 February 2024}}</ref>
== Browser market ==
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==Features==
The most popular browsers share many [[software feature|features]] in common. They automatically log users' [[Web browsing history|browsing history]], unless the users turn off their browsing history or use the non-logging [[Private browsing|private mode]]. They also allow users to set [[Bookmark (digital)|bookmarks]], customize the browser with [[Browser extension|extensions]], and can manage user [[password]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Balaban |first=David|date=17 February 2021|title=Password Manager Comparison: Top Password Managers for 2021|url=https://www.eweek.com/search-engines/comparing-in-browser-based-commercial-password-managers/|access-date=4 November 2021|website=eWEEK|language=en-US}}</ref> Some provide a sync service<ref>{{
[[File:Chromium (web browser).png|thumb|right|220x220px|Traditional browser arrangement has [[user interface]] features above page content.]]
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