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I would like to get rid of the stock browser (org.lineageos.jelly) on my phone that runs LineageOS. Other threads and sites already go into the details of removing pre-installed apps with/without root but I am wondering if there are any risks of removing the browser in particular? For instance, is the Android System WebView implementation in any way tied to the stock browser? (I'd still want to be able to use apps that use WebView.) More generally, is there anything else I'd affect by removing the stock browser?

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    Installing aroma variant gapps of opengapps.org will overwrites with current AOSP/Lineage stock apps with that of Google's. That means default dialer will change to google phone, browser will change to chrome. etc
    – Rahul Gopi
    Commented May 7, 2019 at 15:54
  • That's good to know. However, I'm not using gapps at all, so in my case that wouldn't be an issue.
    – balu
    Commented May 7, 2019 at 16:18
  • On the Developer settings page you can change the app that provides the WebView implementation. Apps that can provide the WebView is e.g. Google Chrome (can be installed from Play Store).
    – Robert
    Commented May 7, 2019 at 16:39
  • Does your comment imply that the stock browser indeed contains the WebView implementation? As for installing a different browser like Chrome, that's not an option in my case because I don't want to have any browser on this particular device. (Don't want any distractions etc.) As an alternative to Chrome, wouldn't it be possible to merely install Android System WebView from the Play Store as a standalone application or would this include a browser, too?
    – balu
    Commented May 7, 2019 at 16:47
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    The System Webview app is outdated technology from Android 5.x. Currently it is AFAIK still supported by Google but in general it would recommend not to use it anymore. It has been replaced by the WebView implementation from the selected web browser app.
    – Robert
    Commented May 7, 2019 at 17:06

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I ended up going ahead and just removed the Jelly browser – initially manually by using TWRP's file manager and later – since it came back when I updated the system afterwards (duh) – using a handy flashable zip that I got from LOSdiet. So far, so good. Everything seems to work fine.

As for WebView, the Android System WebView entry in the developer settings is still there, so I suppose WebView is not tied to the Jelly.apk. Indeed, the LOSdiet site github.io page as well as the old CyanogenMod "barebones" wiki page indicate that the default (pre-installed) WebView is a separate .apk.

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    +1 for the testing. As you noticed, the browser is a separate app and it's installed anew every time you update your system. To avoid that, you can either create an addon.d script that removes the app after each update or, if you use Magisk, pick the Debloater module.
    – Grimoire
    Commented May 8, 2019 at 11:57
  • Yup, that's exactly what the LOSdiet zip does – it installs an addon.d script that makes sure Jelly is gone upon every boot-up.
    – balu
    Commented May 8, 2019 at 12:02

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