# Straightdope app?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-app/944447
**Category:** About This Message Board
**Created:** [June 17, 2021, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-app/944447 "2021-06-17T08:58:41Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2021, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-app/944447/1 "2021-06-17T08:58:41Z")
I was on this board when a popup appeared asking me if I wanted to install the Straightdope app. Is there such a thing or was this somehow an attempt to install malware?
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2021, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-app/944447/2 "2021-06-17T11:56:15Z")
This has come up before, I found a thread I don’t recall here:
> [@Install SDMB app?](http://boards.straightdope.com/t/install-sdmb-app/932933):
>
> I noticed this button on my address bar that, if I click on it, offers to install an app for the Straight Dope Message Board. I am running Chrome on Windows 10. Is this a legit thing?
There was another on this, I’m still looking for it. I believe **codinghorror** commented in the other thread I can’t find.
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### Author:  [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2021, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-app/944447/3 "2021-06-17T16:09:29Z")
Without seeing the popup you’re referring to, I can’t say definitively. But, Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers (like Edge) support installing any website as an app. It’s not really a big deal - it functions the same way. It just gives you the opportunity to launch it in its own window without separately launching the browser, and - on Windows - it gets its own top-level entry on your task bar. I assume it does something similar on Macs.
ETA - a lot of people use this for things like gmail so it doesn’t just get lost somewhere as another tab.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2021, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-app/944447/4 "2021-06-17T19:42:39Z")
For any computer question it’s real important to include whether you’re talking about a phone (which OS & brand), a tablet (which OS & brand), or a laptop/desktop computer (which OS and brand).
For anything involving a website, you also need to include the brand of browser.
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### Author:  [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)
#### Post date: [June 17, 2021, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straightdope-app/944447/5 "2021-06-17T19:51:40Z")
I have my answer. It’s a way to install a website as an app. That’s useful for s site that’s used frequently so I’ve done that for the SDMB. Thanks for the answer.