Android kiosk app shows “This app requires a WebView to work” on Android 13Solved

@noor, welcome to the Hexnode Community! For Android apps that depend on Android System WebView, the WebView package must be allowed to run while the device is in kiosk mode. In Hexnode, add the Android System WebView package to the kiosk policy as a background app. Use the package name: com.google.android.webview. Navigate to: Policies > Kiosk Lockdown > Android Kiosk Lockdown > Background Apps. Then add com.google.android.webview and save the policy. After the policy is pushed to the device, retry launching the app in kiosk mode.

I already had com.google.android.webview added under Background Apps, but the app still showed the same WebView error. The devices are all Android 13 and are in kiosk mode.

If the WebView package is already listed under Background Apps, also check whether an Android Allowlist policy is configured. When an Allowlist is applied, packages that are not explicitly allowed may still be blocked, even if they are needed by another app. Add the same package to the Allowlist as well: com.google.android.webview.

You do not need to add Android System WebView under Required Apps just to fix this error, as long as it is already installed on the device. Required Apps is used for enforcing app installation, not for allowing a system component to run in kiosk.

Adding com.google.android.webview to the Allowlist fixed it. It was already in Background Apps, but the Allowlist entry was missing. The app opens normally now in kiosk mode.

For anyone else running into this: after reproducing the issue, it can also help to check the device’s Applications tab in Hexnode for blocked packages. If WebView or another dependency appears as blocked, add that package to the relevant kiosk background apps list and Allowlist policy.