Android System WebView issue with some sites

Website, Application, Performance Security
1

Hi, I don’t know if this is the right place to post so I apologize if it isn’t.

I’ve noticed lately that when using the Android System WebView some sites get on a loop of “checking if the site connection is secure”, followed by a Cloudflare “Verify you are human”, and then back to “checking if the site connection is secure” and so on.

Is this a change Cloudflare has done on purpose or is there a bug?

2

Might also be the question for the Website owners, since they’re in control of the security options which they’re using and which are enabled for their Websites :thinking:

May I ask if it’s the old WebView(), or rather the Chromium based? As far as I can remember working with it, wonder if it could be due to the JavaScript support within it.
By default JS is disabled in them, and since Cloudflare is using JS file to check, that might got the catch then :thinking:

If the web page you plan to load in your WebView uses JavaScript, you must enable JavaScript for your WebView. Once JavaScript is enabled, you can also create interfaces between your app code and your JavaScript code.

JavaScript is disabled in a WebView by default. You can enable it through the WebSettings attached to your WebView.You can retrieve WebSettings with getSettings(), then enable JavaScript with setJavaScriptEnabled().

Source article: Build web apps in WebView  |  Android Developers

3

Thanks for the reply.

It is with the latest WebView. If you have a more private way to share stuff I can send the websites addresses with the issue.

Are site on Cloudflare able to say they shouldn’t work on the Android System WebView?

1 Like
4

I’ve got the Website using Cloudflare, and the app seems to be an old one.
I developed it with the WebView client back in 2013-2014.

It has not been updated since then → might get removed if I don’t update the Android API level for it and change the code until the end of this year? (I think) :roll_eyes: :grimacing: :crazy_face:

Feel free to download and install it, to see if it loads fine and works on your mobile phone device (works on mine Android 11):

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So what I’m testing are general purpose browsers that use the WebView, for example dolphin browser. Most sites that use Cloudflare work but there are a handful of sites that get stuck on that loop. A few weeks ago it was just one or two sites, but the list keeps growing.

1 Like
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I’ve used that one too, but a long time ago, last time on my Sony Xperia X10 (Android 2.1) :thinking:

Interesting :thinking:

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Do you know if there is a way to contact Cloudflare support if I’m not a customer? We are starting to get a lot of complaints from users about this and I just need to know if this is done on purpose or if it is a bug.

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The issue went away on its own. I’m guessing it wasn’t un purpose.

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The issue could be related to a recent update to Android System WebView or a change made by Cloudflare, but it’s also possible that it’s specific to the websites being accessed. One potential solution is to clear the cache and data for Android System WebView, and if that doesn’t work, disabling it and using a different web browser app instead. If the issue persists, contacting Cloudflare or the website’s support team for further assistance may be necessary.

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