You need to run your own node to use lightning self-custodially, but that complexity can be abstracted away. Wallets like Mutiny and Phoenix integrate a lightning node within the app (mutiny actually does it in a web app, which is really impressive). The result is the user getting the benefits of self-custody without the complexity
Discussion
I believe Zeus does as well.
How does Mutiny do it in a PWA if a Lightning node needs to be always-online? Am I misunderstanding that?
It can’t receive offline
Offline payments are a tough part of lightning, but solvable and being worked on now
You need to be online to receive a payment. A bunch of people are working on things like async payments and being notified via web hook to receive payments when you’re not online to receive them