Distribution

In one line: A PWA can reach users through four channels — the installable web itself, a Trusted Web Activity wrapper on Android, a packaged listing in an app store, and a desktop install from the browser. Each trades reach for friction differently.

The four channels

Channel	What it is	Friction	Reach
Installable web	The site itself, added to the home screen via the browser’s install prompt.	Lowest — no store, no review.	Anyone with a modern browser.
Trusted Web Activity (TWA)	An Android wrapper that renders your PWA full-screen in Chrome with no browser UI, shippable to Google Play.	Medium — a one-time Play listing and signing.	Google Play’s catalog + Android search.
App-store listing	A packaged build (TWA on Play, a packaged PWA on the Microsoft Store) submitted for review.	Highest — review, policy, updates.	Store discovery + user trust.
Desktop install	The browser’s install affordance on Windows, macOS, ChromeOS, and Linux.	Low.	Desktop Chromium + Edge users.

Trusted Web Activity on Android

A Trusted Web Activity runs your verified origin full-screen inside the user’s Chrome runtime — same service worker, same cookies, no address bar. You generate the wrapper with Bubblewrap or PWABuilder, verify ownership through Digital Asset Links, and submit the resulting APK/AAB to Google Play. Acceptance is governed by store policy, not technical capability — see the store-acceptance policy data for the current, sourced position.

App stores

Each store has a different packaging mechanism for a PWA:

• Google Play uses a TWA wrapper — the mainstream packaging route to a Play listing.
• Microsoft Store takes a packaged PWA directly; PWABuilder generates the package.
• Apple App Store has no PWA-package route; on iOS the path is Safari home-screen install of the PWA itself.

Whether a given store currently accepts its submission changes with store policy, so this page describes the mechanism only and does not state the verdict — the authoritative, dated accept/partial/reject rows live in the policy dimension.

Desktop install

On Windows, macOS, ChromeOS, and Linux, Chromium and Edge expose an install affordance once the installability criteria are met (manifest, service worker, secure context). The installed app runs in its own window, appears in the OS app list, and can register as a default handler for files and protocols.

Decision framework

Question	Channel	Why
Widest reach, lowest cost?	Installable web.	No store, no review, instant updates.
Need a Google Play presence?	TWA via Bubblewrap/PWABuilder.	The supported Android store path.
Targeting Windows desktop users?	Microsoft Store packaged PWA.	Native store discovery + auto-update.
Targeting iOS?	Safari home-screen install.	The web install path on iOS.

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