DEV Community

Cathy Lai
Cathy Lai

Posted on

Where Do I "Host" My Mobile App?

#reactnative #ios #android #mobile

Why This Question Comes from a Web Mental Model (and Why It Breaks)

If you’re asking “where do I host my mobile app?”, you’re not asking the wrong question — you’re asking it from the wrong mental model. This question makes perfect sense if your background is web development, where hosting is a fundamental concept. In mobile development, however, the lifecycle of an app works very differently.

This misunderstanding is one of the most common reasons people feel stuck when moving from web to mobile, especially when using tools like React Native or AI-generated scaffolding.

The Web App Mental Model (What We’re Used To)

In web development, the frontend is something that lives on a server and is delivered to users dynamically. You deploy your code to a hosting provider, users access it through a URL, and updates are immediately visible after a refresh. This creates a tight mental link between “frontend” and “hosting.”

That model works beautifully on the web — but it does not translate to mobile apps.

[ Browser ]
     |
     v
[ Hosted Frontend (HTML / JS / CSS) ]
     |
     v
[ Web Server / API ]
     |
     v
[ Database ]
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

The Core Difference with Mobile Apps

A mobile app is not something users visit. It is something they install. The entire user interface is bundled into a compiled binary that lives directly on the device.

Once installed, the app runs locally on the phone. If you want to change anything in that UI, you must build and install a new version of the app.

iOS: How an App Actually Reaches an iPhone

On Apple platforms, your code is compiled and signed into a binary before it ever reaches a user. Apple requires this signing process to ensure security, integrity, and trust in the App Store ecosystem. There is no hosted frontend involved at any point.

[ React Native / Swift Code ]
              |
              v
[ Build & Sign (Xcode / EAS) ]
              |
              v
[ App Binary (.ipa) ]
              |
              | (creator Publish the app)
              |
              v
[ App Store / TestFlight ]
              | 
              | (customer download the app)
              |
              v
[ iPhone / iPad Device ]
              |
              v
[ UI Runs Locally on Device ]
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

The binary exists only in two places: on Apple’s distribution system (App Store or TestFlight), and on the user’s device.

Android: Same Concept, Different Packaging

Android follows the same fundamental model, even though the tooling and file formats are different. Your app is compiled into an APK or App Bundle, signed, and then installed onto the device either via the Play Store or direct installation.

Again, the key idea is that the UI lives inside the binary, not on a server.

[ React Native / Kotlin / Java Code ]
                    |
                    v
        [ Build & Sign (Gradle / EAS) ]
                    |
                    v
        [ App Binary (.apk / .aab) ]
                    |
                    v
      [ Play Store / Direct Install ]
                    |
                    v
            [ Android Device ]
                    |
                    v
          [ UI Runs Locally ]
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

So What Is Actually Hosted?

Only backend services are hosted — and only if your app needs them. These services are accessed by the app over the network using APIs.

Typical examples include authentication, cloud data sync, payments, or push notifications.

[ Mobile App (on device) ]
            |
            v
      [ HTTPS API Calls ]
            |
            v
[ Backend Server / Database ]
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Many apps — especially beginner or personal apps — don’t require a backend at all.

Why This Confusion Is More Common Now

AI tools make it incredibly easy to generate screens and logic without understanding platform fundamentals. As a result, people reach the “it looks done” stage very quickly, without ever learning how mobile apps are actually delivered.

At that point, the natural web-developer instinct kicks in: “Where do I host this?” But in mobile, the correct question is usually “How do I build and install this?”

The Mental Model That Unlocks Everything

A mobile app is best thought of as a large frontend binary. That binary lives on the phone, is optionally distributed via an app store, and can make API calls to hosted services if needed.

Once you internalise this, many confusing topics suddenly make sense:

  • provisioning profiles
  • build pipelines
  • app store reviews
  • why updates aren’t instant

Top comments (0)