Web Roulette: The Mobile Browser For Those Who Love Random Chance & Swiping Left

If you're on TikTok, you're no stranger to how the Following page works. It's a section on the app made up of a never-ending stream of videos from the creators you follow. What gives it its charm is that you'll never know whose content you'll get each time you swipe up. It can either be a new video from one creator or an old video from another. It's like a Kinder Surprise with every swipe. If you ever get bored on the Following tab, you can switch to the For You Page (FYP) and get brand new content, mostly from other creators outside of the ones you already follow.

Now imagine that same energy but for web pages instead of videos. That's what Web Roulette is all about. Launched in late May 2023, Web Roulette is essentially a mobile browser for iOS. However, it doesn't work like the regular old Google Chrome or Firefox. Let's explore what this new app is and how to use it.

Web Roulette is an experimental mobile browser created by the developers behind the popular productivity app Clear Todos and the entertaining kids' game app Here Kitty. It was inspired by the developers' habit of browsing the internet, which involved frequently toggling "semi-randomly between my favorite sites, hoping for something fresh." In an effort to inject a dose of excitement into this kind of mobile web surfing approach, they came up with Web Roulette.

Unlike its traditional counterparts where you would manually go to the web pages of your choice, Web Roulette automatically shows you the home page of your preferred sites. No need to enter a URL or hop on the search bar. All you have to do is swipe left, and you'll get a random site from your pre-configured list every time. There's also an option to shake the phone to land on an entirely new website that isn't on your list.

Web Roulette is available for free on the Apple App Store and is quickly gaining traction, amassing 100,000 site swipes just a day after release.

Web Roulette's interface is different from other mobile browsers. Here's how to use it:

1. Launch the app.
2. Click on the Continue button on the welcome page.
3. Under "Just the Good Stuff" (which serves as your favorites list), press the red minus icon next to the website you want to delete. Otherwise, you can leave the list as is.
4. In the other Web Roulette lists, press the green plus icon next to the websites you want to add to the "Just the Good Stuff" list. There are already several preconfigured categories here like News, Lifestyle, Gaming, and Social to help you get started.
5. If you can't find your preferred website on any list, select the plus icon in the top-right corner.
6. Type the website in the pop-up box and click Add.
7. Once you're happy with your favorites list, select Done in the upper left corner.

Start swiping left on the cards until you land on the website you want to read. Each swipe will charge up your shake count found in the upper right corner. Do 16 swipes to get an additional shake. If you want to see a brand-new website outside of your favorites list, simply give your phone a shake. To edit your favorites list, click on the hamburger menu in the top-left corner.

Marinel Sigue/SlashGear