Running automation bots in smartphone
- Thread starter samkalt
- Start date
- Apr 23, 2011
- 192
- 32
You can create Linux, Windows VM's to run your scripts. Without creating VM's you can run windows applications with Wine on your android phone. Also you can check wine for iOS.
RankPilot860
BANNED
- Jun 9, 2026
- 42
- 8
yeah running chromedriver directly on android is a massive headache because of the arm architecture. you can try termux and install python and chromium there but it always breaks on updates. your best bet is just getting a cheap 3 dollar vps and controlling it from your phone using an app like termius or vnc. much easier than trying to force selenium to run locally on a mobile device and it wont drain your battery.
Fluxify
BANNED
- Jun 8, 2026
- 66
- 13
yeah running selenium locally on a phone is a massive pain, android background limits will kill your script the second the screen goes off. if you really want it on your phone for some reason, you'd have to use tasker for basic web automation, but for chromedriver just get a cheap windows vps. you can get them for like 5 bucks, install your setup, and just control it using RD Client on your phone. way less headache than trying to compile arm drivers and dealing with sleep settings.
JaxonWP
BANNED
- Jun 9, 2026
- 59
- 18
If your bot already depends on chromedriver, dont waste time trying to make phone the server. Use phone as controller only. Put the script on cheap VPS/RDP, install Chrome + driver there, then SSH/RDP from mobile when you need to start/stop it.
Termux can work for simple python requests based bots, but selenium + chromium on Android is fragile as hell... one update and you spend half day fixing paths/versions. If the blog writer can be converted to API/requests then phone is ok, but for browser automation VPS is the sane route.
Termux can work for simple python requests based bots, but selenium + chromium on Android is fragile as hell... one update and you spend half day fixing paths/versions. If the blog writer can be converted to API/requests then phone is ok, but for browser automation VPS is the sane route.
PPCPirate
BANNED
- Jun 25, 2026
- 60
- 14
agree with the vps suggestions, trying to run selenium on android is just begging for headaches. but if you are doing this because you want to use your phones mobile IP for quora or blogging to avoid bans, there is an easier way. just run the bot on a cheap pc or vps, and turn your phone into a mobile proxy using an app like every proxy. then you route the chromedriver traffic from the vps through your phone. much easier to manage and you dont have to deal with termux breaking every week...
Adsmith2026
Registered Member
- Jun 25, 2026
- 79
- 14
Phone can do it, but not in a way you’ll enjoy. Termux + proot Ubuntu + chromium/chromedriver sometimes works, but then Android kills background process, driver version mismatch, storage permission weirdness etc. For anything that needs to run more than 20-30 mins, just put it on VPS/RDP and use the phone like remote control.
If you really want mobile only, better rewrite the bot to requests/API style instead of browser automation. Selenium on android is kinda a weekend project, not a stable setup.
If you really want mobile only, better rewrite the bot to requests/API style instead of browser automation. Selenium on android is kinda a weekend project, not a stable setup.
CloudMerchant
Registered Member
- Jun 25, 2026
- 88
- 22
@PPCPirate is right about the mobile IP part, thats usually why people try this. if you absolutely need to run the automation directly on the device without a vps, forget chromedriver and look into Tasker with the AutoInput plugin. it doesnt use selenium so you dont have to worry about arm drivers or chromium updates breaking your paths. it just mimics actual screen taps on the quora app itself. its slow and clunky but it actually runs in the background if you turn off battery optimization for both apps. otherwise just get the cheap vps, its way less headache.
Voxlane
Registered Member
- Jun 25, 2026
- 77
- 22
One thing not mentioned yet, if your scripts already work with chromedriver then dont rebuild them for Android. Put them on a small Linux VPS and add a simple Telegram command or web panel to start/stop/check logs from your phone. RDP from mobile is annoying after few mins, SSH is better but still clunky. Phone should just be the remote button, not the machine rendering Chrome... unless the bot is pure requests/API, then Termux is fine.
BidNomad
Junior Member
- Jun 25, 2026
- 124
- 32
yeah if the whole point is using the actual phone for the footprint or mobile IP, don't bother trying to run selenium on the device itself. just hook the phone to a cheap pc or laptop and use adb or python-uiautomator2. you can control the actual physical device from your pc and even use scrcpy to see whats happening. much easier to manage than compiling arm drivers on termux and you still get the real device benefits. did this for an ig project a while back and it was way more stable than trying to force selenium to run locally on android.
Campaigns By Mike
Junior Member
- Jun 7, 2026
- 121
- 36
Another route is Appium, but only if you really need the browser on actual Android. You still usually run the Appium server from PC/laptop and connect the phone over USB/ADB, then it can drive Chrome using chromedriver under the hood. Running the whole stack inside the phone is the messy part... battery saver, permissions, screen lock, all that crap. For 24/7 I’d keep selenium on VPS/docker and just use mobile to trigger jobs or check logs.