The strongest browser on Android may be one you can't get through official channels. Android Authority has published a guide to installing Solipsism, a browser it rates as the best option on the platform — and one that isn't distributed through the Google Play Store at all.

Because the app lives outside Google's storefront, getting it onto a phone means sideloading, a process Android supports natively but most users never touch. The outlet's walkthrough covers how to download and install the browser directly, bypassing the Play Store entirely.

The pitch, per Android Authority's framing, is that Solipsism "plays by different rules" than Chrome and the other storefront incumbents — a positioning that's easier to maintain when an app isn't bound by Play Store distribution policies. Off-store browsers can ship features and defaults that Google-reviewed apps often can't or won't.

Sideloading does shift responsibility to the user: updates don't flow automatically through Play, and installs from unknown sources require manually granting permission. For Android owners tired of Chrome's dominance, though, the barrier to trying an alternative is a few taps lower than it sounds.