Add 72FM to Your Home Screen — Use It Like an App

Updated 12 September 2026

You can add 72FM to your phone's home screen — or your computer's taskbar or desktop — in under a minute. The result looks and feels like an app: tap the icon and the player opens full-screen, without the browser address bar. There's nothing to download from an app store; the site itself is what you're installing, saved as a shortcut with app-like behaviour. This guide shows how to do it on iOS, Android, and desktop, and what to expect once it's set up.

Why add it to your home screen?

If you open 72FM regularly, putting it on your home screen removes the step of opening a browser and typing a URL. One tap → playing. It also means:

• It appears in your app drawer alongside your other apps — less likely to be forgotten than a browser tab.
• It opens in a focused view without the browser's address bar and tabs cluttering the screen, on supported browsers.
• The listening habit becomes a tap away at the moment you'd normally reach for a music app.

For listeners who use 72FM daily, this is one of the simplest habit-supporting moves: make it as easy to open as anything on your home screen.

For what happens after it is installed — background playback, data, battery and the car — see radio on your phone.

Add to home screen on iPhone (Safari)

Safari on iOS has a built-in "Add to Home Screen" feature that creates a home-screen icon for any website.

1. Open 72FM in Safari at 72fm.com. (This must be Safari — Chrome on iOS does not offer the same Add to Home Screen behaviour.)
2. Tap the Share button — the square with an arrow pointing upward, at the bottom of the screen.
3. Scroll down in the share sheet and tap "Add to Home Screen".
4. Name it — "72FM" is fine — then tap Add in the top-right corner.
5. The icon appears on your home screen. Tap it to open the player in a focused view.

Behaviour after installation: on most iOS versions, tapping the home-screen icon opens the site in a standalone view without the Safari browser chrome (address bar, tabs). Playback works the same as in the browser, including lock-screen controls. 72FM does ship a web app manifest set to standalone, so the icon opens without Safari's address bar rather than as a plain bookmark.

Add to home screen on Android (Chrome)

Chrome on Android offers a dedicated "Add to Home Screen" (or "Install App" / "Add to Home Screen") prompt for websites.

1. Open 72FM in Chrome on your Android device.
2. Tap the three-dot menu in the top-right corner.
3. Tap "Add to Home Screen" or "Install App" (wording varies by Chrome version and whether the site has a PWA manifest).
4. Confirm by tapping Add or Install.
5. The icon appears on your home screen (and in your app drawer).

On Android, if the site has a proper Web App Manifest, Chrome will offer a full "Install App" prompt that creates a standalone app-like experience. Otherwise, it creates a bookmark shortcut. 72FM's manifest sets display: standalone with icons at 192 and 512 pixels, so Chrome on Android offers the full install prompt.

Add to desktop (Chrome, Edge, or Safari on Mac)

For listeners who primarily use 72FM on a laptop or desktop, a similar shortcut keeps it prominent.

Chrome or Edge (Windows/Mac):

1. Open 72FM in Chrome or Edge.
2. Look for an install icon in the address bar (a small screen with a download arrow) — this appears on sites that offer PWA installation.
3. Click it and follow the prompt. 72FM opens in its own window, separate from the browser.

Alternatively: three-dot menu → Save and share → Create shortcut (Chrome) or Apps → Install this site as an app (Edge).

Safari on Mac:

1. Open 72FM in Safari.
2. Go to File → Add to Dock.
3. The site appears in your Dock and opens in a focused Safari view when clicked.

What PWA installation actually means

"PWA" stands for Progressive Web App. It's a web standard that allows a website to be installed on a device and behave more like a native app — launching in its own window, having a home-screen icon, and potentially working offline for cached content.

Whether any given website offers a full PWA experience depends on what the developer has configured. At minimum, adding any site to the home screen creates a shortcut. A full PWA install creates a more app-like experience. The distinction is technical and behind-the-scenes — for most listeners, the practical result (one-tap access to the player) is the same either way.

72FM is a web-based player built to work in any browser. Adding it to your home screen is confirmed to work as a shortcut; the manifest is complete enough for a real standalone install on Android and desktop Chrome. There is no service worker, though, so nothing is cached for offline use — and a radio player needs the network anyway.

Comparison: browser tab vs. home screen shortcut vs. native app

The home-screen approach gives you the icon and the one-tap access of an app, without the app store and the storage cost. For a browser-based radio player like 72FM, it's the closest available equivalent to a native install.

In short

Adding 72FM to your home screen is thirty seconds of setup that makes a real difference to how often you open it. On iOS, use Safari's Share menu → Add to Home Screen. On Android, use Chrome's three-dot menu → Add to Home Screen or Install. On desktop, use Chrome or Edge's install prompt, or Safari → Add to Dock.

The player you get is the same 72FM you use in the browser — all the stations, collections, and the radio map — delivered with one-tap access from your home screen.

If you haven't tried 72FM in the browser yet, start there first — then add it to your home screen once you've found a station worth returning to.