Fiducia TalkInstalling a web app
Also called Add to Home Screen, Progressive web app, PWA, Installing a browser app
Putting a browser-based communication aid on the home screen so it opens like an app, full screen and offline, with no web address to find in a hurry.
Please note: This page is general information about communication and the ways people are supported to communicate. It is not an assessment, a diagnosis or speech and language therapy, and it does not know the person you have in mind. If you are worried about someone's speech, language or communication, ask a GP, a health visitor or a speech and language therapist. In an emergency, call 999; if you cannot speak, Relay UK on 18000 or the emergencySMS service reach the same operators.
What it is
A web app is a program that runs in the browser rather than being downloaded from an app store. Installing one means adding it to the phone or tablet's home screen so it gets its own icon, opens full screen without the browser's address bar, and (for a well-made one) keeps working with no internet connection.
For a communication aid this matters more than for most apps. A person in a hurry cannot type a web address, and a board that fails when the Wi-Fi does is not a board. An installed web app fixes both.
Who it can help
Anyone using a browser-based aid on a phone or tablet, and the people who set devices up for them: parents, teachers, carers, ward staff. It matters most on iPhone and iPad, where the Talk board is used in the browser and added to the Home Screen (its App Store listing is in review), and on any shared or locked-down device where installing from a store is not possible.
It does not replace a dedicated device for someone who needs one, and it does not change what the app can do. It changes how quickly and reliably the person can reach it.
How it works
On an iPhone or iPad: open the address in Safari, tap the Share button (the square with an arrow), scroll to "Add to Home Screen", and tap Add. The icon appears on the home screen and opens full screen. On Android: open the address in Chrome, tap the three-dot menu, and choose "Add to Home screen" or "Install app". On a Mac or Windows computer, Chrome and Edge offer an install option in the address bar or menu, and the app opens in its own window.
Once installed, the app keeps a copy of itself on the device. The Talk board works offline once it has loaded, and nothing a person says leaves the device; there is no account, no server and no sync, so there is nothing to sign into after installing.
Two things worth knowing. The device's own accessibility settings (Guided Access on iPad, screen pinning on Android) can lock the device to the app so a child cannot wander off into videos; see device accessibility settings. And a web app updates itself the next time it is opened online, so there is nothing to reinstall.
Getting started
This week, install the aid on every device the person uses, not only the main one: the spare phone, the classroom iPad, Nan's tablet. Open it once with the internet on so it loads, then turn the Wi-Fi off and check it still opens.
Put the icon on the first page of the home screen, or in the dock, where it can be reached with one press. Set up Guided Access or screen pinning if the person needs the device to stay on the board.
Add a low-tech backup: a printed copy of the board's main words, for the day the battery is flat.
Where to get help
AbilityNet publishes free step-by-step guides to setting up phones and tablets accessibly, and runs a helpline for disabled people and older people. The ACE Centre advises on AAC on mainstream devices. Apple and Google's own support pages describe adding a web app to the home screen for each version of their systems.
Tools we make that might help
These are our own products. We have put them here because they do something specific for this condition, not because every page needs a list.
Fiducia Talk
On iPhone and iPad the Talk board is used in the browser and added to the Home Screen, and it works offline once loaded.
Last reviewed 2026-08-28 by Fiducia Together · Next review due 2027-08-28
Please note: This page is general information about communication and the ways people are supported to communicate. It is not an assessment, a diagnosis or speech and language therapy, and it does not know the person you have in mind. If you are worried about someone's speech, language or communication, ask a GP, a health visitor or a speech and language therapist. In an emergency, call 999; if you cannot speak, Relay UK on 18000 or the emergencySMS service reach the same operators.