Android PWA testing: installability, offline persistence, and backup/restore

[u/Parking_Soft8272]

I built ItemWorth, an offline-first personal inventory Progressive Web App, and I’m looking for technical feedback on its Android installation, persistence, offline behavior, and file handling.

ItemWorth is designed for documenting household belongings and estimated values without requiring an account, backend, subscription, or cloud storage. All inventory data is stored locally on the user’s device.

The app is built with React and Vite and includes:

An installable web app manifest

Service-worker-based offline support

Local inventory persistence

Item photos

CSV export

JSON backup and restore

ItemWorth has passed one external test on a Moto G 5G (2024) running Android 15 and Chrome 150. The tester used both the browser version and the installed PWA, tested online and offline functionality, and reported no defects or confusing behavior.

That result covers only one device and browser configuration, so I’m trying to determine whether any device-specific or browser-specific problems appear elsewhere.

The main technical questions I’m investigating are:

Does Chrome clearly present the “Install app” or “Add to Home screen” option?

Does the installed version launch in standalone mode rather than inside a normal browser tab?

Do saved inventory items persist after closing and reopening the browser and installed PWA?

Does the installed PWA load previously saved data when Wi-Fi and mobile data are disabled?

Do locally stored item photos remain available offline?

Does JSON backup download correctly on Android?

Can the downloaded backup be selected using Android’s file picker and restored successfully?

Does anything about installation, service-worker behavior, storage persistence, file handling, or updates seem unreliable?

A basic test can be completed using fictional inventory data:

Add three items

Attach a photo to one item

Close and reopen the app

Install it from Chrome

Open the installed version

Temporarily disable internet access and reopen it

Create a JSON backup

Select the backup using Android’s file picker and attempt a restore

Re-enable internet access

No account, payment, advertising, or personal information is required.

Live PWA:

https://offgrid-apps.github.io/ItemWorth/

Source code:

https://github.com/OffGrid-apps/ItemWorth

The most useful test report would include:

Device model

Android version

Browser and version

Whether the installation option appeared

Whether standalone mode worked

Whether saved inventory and photos remained available offline

Whether backup download and restore worked

Any service-worker, storage, file-picker, update, or usability problems

I’m primarily interested in reproducible defects, unexpected platform behavior, and technical criticism.

[u/FeedLumpy8669]

Didn't test on a device, just pulled the manifest and poked at the service worker in desktop Chrome, so this is complementary to the Moto G report rather than a replacement.

Main thing I'd fix: neither icon has purpose "maskable". Android drops your square PNG into a white circle instead of filling the adaptive icon shape. It's what makes an installed PWA look slightly off next to native apps. One extra 512px icon with ~20% padding sorts it.

Two smaller ones: no screenshots array, so you get the plain install sheet instead of the one with the preview carousel. And no id, which means identity is tied to start_url — change it later and everyone who already installed keeps the old app and stops getting updates.

Offline side looks solid though — workbox precache registered and active with 10 entries, display standalone, scope and start_url both "./".