Amazon owns the Internet.

Literally. It's launched a new web browser app for Android, and it's called Internet. The app went live in Google Play Store in March, but Amazon never publicly announced the product, so it went unnoticed until TechCrunch spotted it. If you're wondering why Amazon would develop an app and then keep it quiet, it's because the product has limited availability. It's currently only available to users located in India.

It runs on Android 5.0 and higher devices and is designed to use minimal storage and data. That's helpful in places like India, where many people still don't have access to the internet and are only recently becoming smartphone owners. Amazon's new app offers them a web browser that supports private tabs, which don’t save browser history, as well as a homepage that shows news about cricket, among other things.

Here's how Amazon bills the browser:

"Internet browser is lighter than the competition. This means more storage to download the latest videos and music from your favorite sites. Get new features regularly, with updates so small you may even decide to download them with your data plan... Internet is extra small. You'll love how much more space you have on your phone for videos, music, apps, and everything else."

Internet is essentially a slimmed-down browser that reminds us of similar apps like Facebook Lite. They offer core features but are optimised to take up less space and work on poor network connections. In addition to Internet, Amazon offers a Kindle Lite app in India. Oddly, Amazon's other browser, Silk, for Fire tablets, which are sold in India, isn’t yet available in the Amazon Appstore in India.