A '''web browser''', often shortened to '''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 can also display content stored locally on the user's device.
Browsers are used on a range of devices, including [[desktop computer|desktops]], [[laptop]]s, [[tablet computer|tablets]], [[smartphone]]s, [[smartwatch]]es and [[Video game console|consoles]]. {{As of|2024}}, the most used browsers worldwide are [[Google Chrome]] (~66% [[market share]]), [[Safari (web browser)|Safari]] (~16%), [[Microsoft Edge|Edge]] (~6%), [[Firefox]] (~3%), [[Samsung Internet]] (~2%), and [[Opera (web browser)|Opera]] (~2%).<ref name="statcounter">{{cite web |title=Browser Market Share Worldwide |url=https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share |access-date=21 March 2025 |publisher=[[StatCounter]]}}</ref><ref name="cloudflare">{{cite web|last=|first=|title=Browser Market Share Report for 2024 Q1|website=cloudflare.com|publisher=Cloudflare, Inc.|date=May 3, 2024|url=https://radar.cloudflare.com/reports/browser-market-share-2024-q1|access-date=March 22, 2025}}</ref> As of 2023, an estimated 5.4 billion people had used a browser.<ref>{{Cite web |title=World Internet Users Statistics and 2023 World Population Stats|url=https://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240523140912/https://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm|access-date=21 March 2025 |website=www.internetworldstats.com|archive-date=23 May 2024|url-status=dead}}</ref>
