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Report updated Apr 20, 2026

Dolphin Browser is a struggling business app that is completely free. With a 3.5/5 rating from 2.5M reviews, it struggles with user retention. Users particularly appreciate legacy loyalty, though app-breaking crashes remains a common concern.

What is Dolphin Browser?

Dolphin Browser is a legacy mobile web browser targeting power users who value customization (Gestures, Sonar) and legacy web support (Flash). Once a market leader with 150M+ downloads, it is currently in a state of critical decline. While the Android version saw a recent update in late 2025, the iOS version has been effectively abandoned since 2019, leading to a 'Terrible' sentiment rating due to app-breaking crashes on modern OS versions. Its primary differentiator remains its gesture-based navigation and Flash support, but these are overshadowed by broken core functionality like fullscreen mode and verification loops.

Current Momentum

v10.0 · 6mo ago

Maintenance

Dolphin Browser is currently in maintenance mode, with the last major feature update occurring in early 2019. Recent activity is limited to minor stability and bug fix releases.

Active Nemesis

UC Browser

UC Browser

By UCWEB SINGAPORE PTE

Other Rivals

Brave Browser & Search Engine
Opera: AI browser with VPN
Vivaldi Powerful Web Browser
Firefox: Private Web Browser
Aloha Browser - Private VPN
DuckDuckGo, Duck.ai, & VPN
Microsoft Edge
Maxthon Browser

7-Day Rank Pulse 🇺🇸

Business

No ranking data

Rating Pulse 🇺🇸

Recent User Mood

What makes this app unique?

What Does It Look Like?

What Are The Key Features?

Flash Player SupportDifferentiator

Enables playback of legacy Flash-based content and games within the mobile browser.

Gesture BrowsingDifferentiator

Custom symbols to navigate to specific websites or trigger browser functions.

Dolphin SonarDifferentiator

Voice-controlled navigation and search for hands-free interaction.

Sidebar Add-onsDifferentiator

Customizable sidebars for quick access to bookmarks and third-party extensions.

How much does it cost?

Free
  • Completely free to use

The app follows a purely free-to-use model supported by ads, with no evidence of subscription or IAP tiers in the current data.

What do users think recently?

High confidence · Latest 100 of 2.5M total reviews analyzed

How did the latest release land?

Overall
3.5/ 5
(2.5M)
Current version
2.2/ 5
-1.3 vs overall
(372)
Main signal post-update: app-Breaking Crashes.

What is the recent mood?

Upset

Recent user voice shows a upset sentiment. Users appreciate legacy loyalty and flash support, but report app-breaking crashes and verification loops.

What Users Love

Legacy Loyalty
Flash Support

What Frustrates Users

App-Breaking Crashes
Verification Loops

View the full user-sentiment analysis

Mood gauge, ratings & review-volume history, every praise / complaint / request, and sentiment over time.

Go deeper

What is the competitive landscape for Dolphin Browser?

How's The Business Market?

How does it evolve in the Business market?

Rank progression

19 active rankings tracked — 30-day window

The rivals identified

The outtake for Dolphin Browser

Strengths to defend, gaps to attack

Core Strengths

  • Niche Flash Player support for legacy gaming and enterprise content.
  • Unique Gesture and Sonar UI that provides a distinct alternative to standard navigation.
  • Highly customizable sidebar UX for efficient bookmark and tool management.

Critical Frictions

  • Total abandonment of the iOS platform (no updates since 2019).
  • Critical launch crashes on modern iOS versions (iOS 14+).
  • Broken core features on Android, including fullscreen mode and login persistence.

Growth Levers

  • Modernize the download manager to match UC Browser's media handling capabilities.
  • Integrate AI-driven search or summarization features to compete with Opera and Arc Search.
  • Resolve Cloudflare/Captcha verification loops to restore basic browsing utility.

Market Threats

  • Active development from UC Browser and Brave capturing the high-performance and privacy segments.
  • Disruptive AI-first browsers like Arc Search making manual navigation obsolete.
  • Total brand erosion due to unresolved 'Terrible' user sentiment and app crashes.

What are the next best moves?

high

Resolve iOS launch crashes immediately.

The iOS version has a 2.18 rating and 'Terrible' sentiment because it fails to open on modern devices, representing a total loss of the iOS user base.

high

Fix Cloudflare and Captcha verification loops.

Users report these loops make the browser 'unbearable' and block the core function of surfing the web.

medium

Modernize the download manager and media player.

UC Browser (Nemesis) currently wins on 'Watch Offline' and file management, which are key for Dolphin's power-user demographic.

Feature Gaps vs Competitors

  • AI browser assistant (available in Opera but missing here)
  • Native Chrome/Firefox extension support (available in Orion but missing here)
  • Hardware-accelerated VR player (available in Aloha but missing here)
  • AI-generated search reports (available in Arc Search but missing here)

Key Takeaways

Dolphin Browser is currently a legacy product surviving on its Android presence and a niche Flash-support use case. If the iOS version is not immediately updated to fix launch crashes, it should be sunset to prevent further brand damage; meanwhile, the Android version must prioritize fixing verification loops and fullscreen regressions to retain its remaining power users.

Where Is It Heading?

Declining

iOS version has not been updated since May 2019, leading to total launch failure on modern devices.

Android version v12.4.2 (Oct 2025) shows active maintenance of the kernel and database.

Persistent Cloudflare and Captcha loops are blocking core browsing functionality for active users.

Disclosure: Independent intel to help mobile builders succeed.

AI-powered analysis with editorial review, built from publicly available sources. Marlvel.ai is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Dolphin Browser, its developer, the app publisher, Apple, or Google Play. All trademarks, logos, and screenshots referenced remain the property of their respective owners.

What's new

The report identifies a worsening user experience due to new web verification hurdles and confirms the total functional failure of the iOS application.

declined

Emergence of Verification Loop Complaints

added

Brand Erosion Threat

added

Sidebar Add-ons Feature

Cite this report

Marlvel.ai. “Dolphin Browser Intelligence Report.” Updated Apr 20, 2026. https://marlvel.ai/apps/dolphin-browser

Agent Markdown (.md)See methodologyContact support

Data licensed under CC-BY-NC 4.0