Alibaba Group’s mobile browser, UC Browser, has surpassed Apple’s Safari to become the No. 2 mobile browser worldwide,according to StatCounter, an independent web traffic analytics service.

Statcounter reported that UC Browser’s global market share in Octoberreached 17 percent, surpassing Safari which had a 16 percent share. Google Chrome remained No. 1 with aworldwide market share of nearly 36 percent.

Mobile browsers optimize the display of Web content on the small screens of portable devices, making them akeypiece of software as people all over the world increasingly access the Internet by smartphone and tablet. Already the most popular mobile browser in China, UC Browser has been makingstrides in other populous Asian countries including India and Indonesia, where the software is used by about half of mobile customers.

The browser supportsmainstream mobile operating systems including Android and iOS and is available in 12 languages including Chinese, English, Hindi, Indonesian,Portuguese,Spanish and Russian, according to Alibaba Mobile Business Group, which owns UC Browser.

Through partnerships with content providers in overseas markets, the company is able to tailor and personalize content to suit local preferences, which has boostedadoptionand engagement, the company said. The browser is designed for cloud-computing environments and features data-compression technology that enables faster page loading and reduceddata costs.

“By providing a one-stop mobile browsing gateway, UC Browser makes mobile services conveniently accessible, helping improve and reshape the mobile lifestyle of our users worldwide,” said Yu Yongfu, President of Alibaba Mobile Business Group, in a statement.

E-commerce giant Alibaba Group acquired UCWeb, the developer ofUC Browser, in 2014. Early this year the software surpassed more than 100 million daily active users.