Android Question WhatsApp link works in browser but not inside WebView – how to fix?

Adamdam · Saturday at 6:28 AM

I’m facing an issue with a WebView implementation in my app.

I have a PHP page hosted on a server that includes a link to open WhatsApp (for sending a message). When I open this page in a normal mobile browser, it works perfectly—it opens WhatsApp and prepares the message as expected.

However, when I load the same PHP page inside a WebView in my app, clicking the WhatsApp link does nothing (or it doesn’t open WhatsApp).

What I’ve tried:

The same URL works fine outside WebView (in Chrome or other browsers)
The issue only happens inside WebView

Question:
How can I enable WebView to properly open WhatsApp links (e.g., https://wa.me/... or intent:// links)?
Do I need to handle this differently inside WebView?

zed · Saturday at 7:05 AM

B4A's WebView cannot automatically open WhatsApp links. You need to intercept the URLs (wa.me, whatsapp://, intent://) in ShouldOverrideUrl and manually launch an Android intent.

A WebView does not handle external URL schemes.

Try this

B4A:

Sub WebView1_OverrideUrl (Url As String) As Boolean
    If Url.StartsWith("https://wa.me/") Or Url.StartsWith("whatsapp://") Then
        OpenWhatsApp(Url)
        Return True
    End If

    WebView1.LoadUrl(Url)
    Return True
End Sub

Sub OpenWhatsApp(Url As String)
    Try
        Dim i As Intent
        i.Initialize(i.ACTION_VIEW, Url)
        StartActivity(i)
    Catch
        ToastMessageShow("WhatsApp is not installed", True)
    End Try
End Sub

DonManfred · Saturday at 7:12 AM

Adamdam said:
How can I enable WebView to properly open WhatsApp links (e.g., https://wa.me/... or intent:// links)?

Using the solution in #2 will open the link in a browser. Not in your webview.

So the real anser is no, it does not work in a webview.

Android Question WhatsApp link works in browser but not inside WebView – how to fix?

Adamdam

Active Member

zed

Well-Known Member

DonManfred

Expert

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Android Question WhatsApp link works in browser but not inside WebView – how to fix?

Adamdam

Active Member

zed

Well-Known Member

DonManfred

Expert

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