A web browser is an application for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's screen. Browsers are used on a range of devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. By 2020, an estimated 4.9 billion people had used a browser.[1] The most-used browser is Google Chrome, with a 67% global market share on all devices, followed by Safari with 18%, Microsoft Edge with 5%, Firefox with 3%, Samsung Internet with 2%, and Opera with 2%.[2]
A web browser is not the same thing as a search engine, though the two are often confused.[3][4] A search engine is a website that provides 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.[5] In some technical contexts, browsers are referred to as user agents.
Less than 8% of people who were interviewed on this day knew what a browser was.
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.