Web apps are becoming more and more popular these days. They are apps that you access through your browser, instead of downloading and installing them on your computer. This way, they save you some space on your hard drive, which is always a good thing. However, web apps are not completely storage-free. They still use some of your computer’s memory to store data and files. This can be especially noticeable if you use Safari on a Mac, as web apps have a larger storage limit than other browsers.
Apple is rolling out alterations to its Storage Policy that will have implications for all iOS browsers and Safari on Mac computers. While most of these changes are geared towards developers and won’t have a direct impact on you, there’s a particular modification worth noting – one concerning the storage capacity browsers can commandeer.
In a nutshell, Apple’s decree goes like this: browser apps and web apps that find a home on your iOS home screen or macOS dock can collectively claim approximately 60% of your available disk space. However, if we’re talking about a website or web app that you sporadically visit or merely have bookmarked, the allocation shrinks considerably to a mere 20% of your disk space.
Let’s take a trip down memory lane for a moment. Prior to these changes, Safari maintained a watchful eye over web apps, restricting them to around 1GB of storage. And whenever these apps needed a bit more room to breathe, Safari would chime in, asking for permission to expand storage by 200MB chunks as necessary.
The freshly set threshold hinges on a device’s storage capacity, which means that the potential scope could easily span hundreds of gigabytes, assuming your device boasts such extensive storage capabilities. This development is perfectly aligned with the policies seen in browsers like Google Chrome. In Chrome’s realm, websites can stake a claim on up to 60% of storage capacity, although this figure dwindles to a mere 5%. Apple’s approach diverges in a notable way – websites can access the complete storage chunk exclusively if they’re anchored to your device’s home screen or snugly settled in the dock. However, it’s important to note that this limit doesn’t use its influence over files that are either downloaded or stored in an external directory.
The modifications are going to be introduced alongside forthcoming operating system upgrades, set to arrive as iOS 17 and macOS 14. These updates are on track for a later this year launch, bringing the enhancements to iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers.
