Verified 2026-09-16 16 iOS browsers tracked
Which browsers use their own engine on iPhone
None of them. Apple permits alternative browser engines in the European Union and Japan, under entitlement and only for apps distributed solely in those regions - but no vendor has shipped such a build. Every third-party browser you install from the App Store renders with WebKit, the same engine Safari uses.
What Apple permits, by region
| Region | Safari | Third-party browsers |
|---|---|---|
| European Union | WebKit | Third-party browsers Own engine permitted under entitlement; no shipping build uses onePermitted from iOS 17.4, and only for apps distributed solely in the EU. |
| Japan | WebKit | Third-party browsers Own engine permitted under entitlement; no shipping build uses onePermitted from a later iOS release, and only for apps distributed solely in Japan. |
| Everywhere else | WebKit | Third-party browsers WebKit requiredApp review requires WebKit for browsers outside the entitlement regions. |
Every iOS browser in this directory
The desktop engine column is the one readers mistakenly assume applies on iPhone. It does not.
| Browser | Desktop engine | Engine on iOS |
|---|---|---|
| ArcThe Browser Company | chromium | Own engine permitted, not shippedApple permits alternative engines in the EU and Japan under entitlement; the shipping iOS build renders with WebKit. |
| BraveBrave Software | chromium | Own engine permitted, not shippedApple permits alternative engines in the EU and Japan under entitlement; no non-WebKit build ships in the App Store. |
| ChromeGoogle | chromium | Own engine permitted, not shippedApple permits alternative engines in the EU and Japan under entitlement; no non-WebKit build ships in the App Store. |
| CometPerplexity AI | chromium | Own engine permitted, not shippedApple permits alternative engines in the EU and Japan under entitlement; the shipping iOS build renders with WebKit. |
| DuckDuckGo BrowserDuckDuckGo | webview | Own engine permitted, not shippedApple permits alternative engines in the EU and Japan under entitlement; the shipping iOS build renders with WebKit. |
| FirefoxMozilla | gecko | Own engine permitted, not shippedApple permits alternative engines in the EU and Japan under entitlement; no non-WebKit build ships in the App Store. |
| Firefox FocusMozilla | gecko | Own engine permitted, not shippedApple permits alternative engines in the EU and Japan under entitlement; the shipping iOS build renders with WebKit rather than Gecko. |
| FloorpFloorp Projects | gecko | WebKit requiredThe iOS TestFlight beta is built on Firefox for iOS and renders with WebKit. |
| Microsoft EdgeMicrosoft | chromium | Own engine permitted, not shippedApple permits alternative engines in the EU and Japan under entitlement; no non-WebKit build ships in the App Store. |
| Norton NeoGen Digital | chromium | Own engine permitted, not shippedApple permits alternative engines in the EU and Japan under entitlement; the shipping iOS build renders with WebKit. |
| OperaOpera Software | chromium | Own engine permitted, not shippedApple permits alternative engines in the EU and Japan under entitlement; no non-WebKit build ships in the App Store. |
| Opera GXOpera Software | chromium | Own engine permitted, not shippedApple permits alternative engines in the EU and Japan under entitlement; no non-WebKit build ships in the App Store. |
 OrionKagi | webkit | WebKit requiredOrion is built on WebKit by design on Apple platforms. |
| SafariApple | webkit | Not applicableSafari is Apple's own browser and is not subject to the third-party engine rule; it is WebKit by definition. |
| VivaldiVivaldi Technologies | chromium | Own engine permitted, not shippedApple permits alternative engines in the EU and Japan under entitlement; the shipping iOS build renders with WebKit. |
 Yandex BrowserYandex | chromium | Own engine permitted, not shippedApple permits alternative engines in the EU and Japan under entitlement; the shipping iOS build renders with WebKit. |
What this means in practice
- Does Chrome on iPhone use Blink?
- No. The Chrome app on iOS renders with WebKit. Apple permits an alternative engine in the EU and Japan under entitlement, but Google has not shipped such a build to the App Store.
- Does Firefox on iPhone use Gecko?
- No. Firefox and Firefox Focus both render with Gecko on Android and with WebKit on iOS. Installing them on an iPhone is not a way to run Mozilla's engine.
- Then what actually differs between iOS browsers?
- Everything above the engine: blocking defaults, which company holds your sync and history, the default search engine, and the interface. Those are real differences and are worth choosing between.
- Why has no vendor shipped an alternative engine?
- The reasons are disputed. The entitlement requires the app to be distributed solely within the permitted region, which vendors have argued makes the business case difficult. This page records the observable result rather than adjudicating the argument.