Dear @roamingal,
in addition to what @Usane has already said, you can take a look to this post
In my answer there (#13) I've annexed some code (AI2 and .ino) plus some explanation. Probably is a bit more complex than what you need, but the principle I've adopted to develop that code was effectively to use only the capabilities of the 8266 (same as ESP32, as far as the WiFi is concerned) and an Android device, without the use of browsers or WiFi home routers.
Hoping it can help.
Cheers