Browser requirements
Unblu is optimized to run on modern browsers. The specific requirements for using Unblu, both as a visitor and as an agent, depend on the product features that you wish to use. This article explains which browsers—and which versions of those browsers—you need for the various product features.
General recommendations
For desktop systems like Windows, MacOS or Linux, Unblu recommends that visitors and agents use a Chromium-based browser such as Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge.
For mobile devices running Android, we also recommend that visitors and agents use a Chromium-based browser, such as Google Chrome for Android.
For mobile devices running iOS, you must use Safari for iOS.
In all cases, users should always use the latest version of their browser.
Supported browsers
The tables below summarize information regarding supported and blocked versions of a selection of popular web browsers.
-
Supported versions are browser versions that Unblu is officially supported on
-
Blocked versions are browser versions that are explicitly prevented from running Unblu
Desktop
Browser | Supported versions | Blocked versions |
---|---|---|
Chrome |
Current and previous ESC (Extended Stable Channel) version |
< v109 |
Firefox |
Current ESR (Extended Support Release) version |
< 115.0 |
Edge |
Current and previous ESC (Extended Stable Channel) version |
< v109 |
Safari |
Current major version |
< 15.0 |
Unblu doesn’t support Internet Explorer or versions of Microsoft Edge that aren’t based on Chromium. |
Mobile browsers
Unsupported browser behavior
When a user tries to access Unblu using Internet Explorer:
-
In the Single Conversation Desk, Agent Desk or Visitor Desk, they’re redirected to an error page describing the issue.
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In a typical Unblu snippet integration, Unblu doesn’t load and a warning message is logged in the browser console.
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The JS API doesn’t initialize and throws an exception, and a warning message is logged in the JS console.
Browsers running in environments using Citrix
Unblu is Citrix ready. It’s compatible with Citrix’s Virtual Apps and Desktops service, Virtual Desktops, Workspace app, and Virtual Apps. Nevertheless, your agents may experience performance issues when using some of Unblu’s features such as co-browsing or audio and video calls. These performance issues are common for rich internet applications that transmit large amounts of video and audio data.
To mitigate these issues, Citrix provides a feature called Browser Content Redirection (BCR). The feature allows content from a website to be rendered locally by the agent’s endpoint rather than the Virtual Delivery Agent (VDA). This reduces CPU, RAM, and bandwidth consumption on the VDA and provides your agents with a far smoother experience when using Unblu. As a result, you should roll out BCR to agents using Unblu for co-browsing, screen sharing, and video and audio calls.
BCR requires that you install an extension in the browser running on the VDA and put certain Citrix configuration settings in place. For more information on how to configure BCR and the browser extensions the feature requires, see the Citrix documentation on Browser Content Redirection and the article on troubleshooting BCR.
Technical requirements by product feature
Text chat features
Unblu has two product features based on text chat functionality:
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Live Chat
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Secure Messenger
Both features work on a wide range of browsers, including older versions of current browsers. Nonetheless, Unblu recommends that you use the latest version of a modern browser.
Embedded co-browsing
The embedded co-browsing feature relies on a technique called DOM capturing on the visitor’s browser. This technique works on a wide range of browsers. The limitations that do exist aren’t related to browser types or versions directly, but rather to the details of the instrumented page. For more information, see Limitations of embedded co-browsing.
Video-related features
Unblu provides a number of product features relating to video, and these are the features most likely to be affected by browser limitations. All the video-related product features rely on the browser supporting the WebRTC API, but three Unblu product features only require WebRTC:
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Audio and video
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Universal co-browsing
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Server-based document co-browsing
Browser support for screen sharing
One video-related feature—screen sharing—additionally requires the getDisplayMedia()
API, which enables a user to select a screen (or part of a screen, such as a browser window) to capture as a video stream. The user interface to make the selection is provided by the browser; Unblu has no control over this aspect of screen sharing. It may, however, have an impact on the usability of the feature for some users. Once the user has chosen what they want to share, the video stream is sent to another browser using WebRTC.
Users of browsers that support WebRTC but not getDisplayMedia()
can participate in screen sharing, but only as viewers.
This means they can see what another person is sharing, but can’t share their own screen.
For more information on getDisplayMedia()
, see the MDN article Using the Screen Capture API.
API availability in recommended browsers
The table below summarizes the extent to which versions of various browsers that Unblu recommends provide support for WebRTC and getDisplayMedia()
.
Browser | WebRTC available | getDisplayMedia() available |
---|---|---|
Chrome |
56 and above |
72 and above |
Firefox |
44 and above |
66 and above |
Safari |
11 and above |
13 and above |
Edge |
79 and above |
Edge 42 and above (EdgeHTML 17 and above) |
Chrome for Android |
79 and above |
No |
Safari for iOS |
11 and above |
No |