Fullscreen API Browser Compatibility (2026): Full Support Table

Fullscreen API Browser Compatibility

The Fullscreen API (requestFullscreen() / exitFullscreen()) lets any element take over the entire screen, the technology behind every fullscreen video player, kiosk display, and tool like ours. Support is now broadly universal across desktop browsers, but mobile, and iOS Safari specifically, still has real restrictions worth knowing before you build against it.

Browser Support Table

iOS Safari’s Restrictions (The Part That Trips People Up)

Unlike every other major browser, iOS Safari has never shipped full, unprefixed Fullscreen API support, even in current versions. What you get instead is partial support with real constraints:

• User-gesture requirement is strict. requestFullscreen() must be called directly inside a user interaction handler (a tap or click), programmatic or delayed calls are silently blocked.
• <video> elements behave differently than other elements. iOS Safari has historically supported fullscreen video playback through its own native video controls rather than the standard Fullscreen API, meaning a <video playsinline> element won’t always respond to requestFullscreen() the way a <div> would.
• No fullscreen for arbitrary elements in some contexts. Trying to fullscreen a non-video element (a canvas, a div-based tool) can be blocked entirely in certain iOS Safari versions, depending on whether it’s a standalone tab or inside an iframe.
• Home Screen web apps behave differently again. A site added to the iOS Home Screen (running as a standalone PWA) has different fullscreen behavior than the same site opened in Safari directly.

Kiosk-Mode and Autoplay Interactions

Two other quirks worth knowing if you’re building for kiosk displays or retail signage:

Autoplay + fullscreen conflicts. Some browsers block autoplaying video from simultaneously entering fullscreen without a direct user gesture, even if autoplay itself is allowed muted. Test this combination explicitly rather than assuming it works because autoplay alone works.

Kiosk-mode browsers aren’t standard Fullscreen API behavior. Dedicated kiosk-mode software (used in retail POS displays, digital signage) often bypasses the Fullscreen API entirely at the OS/browser-configuration level, rather than relying on requestFullscreen() being called from the page. If you’re deploying to a kiosk device, check whether the kiosk software already handles fullscreen before adding your own API calls, the two can conflict.

Quick Reference: Requesting Fullscreen Safely

function goFullscreen(element) {
  if (element.requestFullscreen) {
    element.requestFullscreen();
  } else if (element.webkitRequestFullscreen) {
    element.webkitRequestFullscreen(); // Safari (older)
  } else if (element.msRequestFullscreen) {
    element.msRequestFullscreen(); // IE11
  }
}

Always call this directly inside a click or tap handler, never after an async delay, or iOS Safari (and some other browsers) will silently reject the request.

FAQ