Creating links to a mobile app - url

Is there a way to create a general url that links to a mobile app? For example, is it possible to create a redirect uri that opens up a mobile app?

You are interested in iOS Universal Links and Android app links. If you do not have a website you can also look into doing this with URI schemes. The quickest solution is to use Branch which bundles both together into one link.

Related

Universal Links not working when default browser is Google Chrome in Outlook?

When I open the mail link with default browser as Google Chrome in Outlook,
it's opening in browser. I am expecting the link to be opened in application.
The way outlook lets users choose chrome as the destination for links effectively disables the universal linking functionality provided by the system. Basically, outlook isn't opening the raw link, which would lead to your app, it is building a mobile chrome URI per chrome's custom scheme. Until iOS provides users a method to choose a different browsers, apps rolling their own solution will continue to break system expectations.

Universal Link does not work in Safari

I have implemented google sign-in in my app. The problem is when I go to Safari for the sign in I want the user to be redirected back to my app.
The first approach that I tried was using Custom URL scheme. This worked, however the user was shown a pop-up saying 'Do you want to open (app name)'.
It appears the solution to this pop-up is Universal Links, which I have implemented. I can seamlessly now navigate to my app from Notes and other apps. However, when I tried this inside my app, it doesn't work and the user is redirected to the website instead of the app.
For testing, I created a website and added a button to it, which was linked to my original website. When I open that website in Safari and click the button, my app opens. So why doesn't the redirection from google sign-in to my website open my app?
Universal Links do not work with automatic redirects. They must be triggered via some sort of user action. The link URL also needs to be on a different domain/subdomain from the page where the link is being clicked (e.g., example.dom and link.example.com).
Based on your description of link behavior from Notes and other apps, it appears your configuration is correct and you are simply attempting to do something that Universal Links does not support.
For others who find this question via Google and do not have links from Notes working correctly, try the Universal Links validator tool from Branch.io (full disclosure: I'm on the Branch team).

How to deep-link directly to an app in Okta Mobile on iOS

We can send a link to someone formatted as okta:// and it will launch the Okta mobile app, but I would like to know if there is a way to deep link to a specific app in Okta mobile?
Something like okta://appname
or better yet would be okta://appname/specificpageinapp
I have tried all sorts of options, but none seem to work.
The Okta Mobile app doesn't support deep linking as you described.
You may be able to deep-link directly into native iOS applications using a similar URL Scheme (exampleapp://page/example). If the native iOS app is integrated with Okta, this might work as you expect.
However, it sounds like what you might actually want to do is link directly into the embedded web view of a web application in Okta. If that is the case, I suggest reaching out to Okta support with a feature request and the use case that you're trying to solve, so that it can get the attention of the product manager for the Okta Mobile app.

iOS app URL scheme for Facebook Messenger

I want to share my app URL scheme via FB Messenger, my URL scheme is myapp.
The problem is, when I send the message: myapp://?param1=1234, FB Messenger shows the message as plain text and not as a link.
My question is, what should I do to FB Messenger recognize my URL Scheme?
Facebook Messenger doesn't see custom URL schemes as hyperlinks, which is why they're being shown as plain text. Even if they were, those links would break for anyone who doesn't have the app installed so it would lead to a somewhat unpleasant user experience.
What you probably want to do instead is wrap your custom URL scheme links inside a standard HTTP link by using a redirect. If you add some fallback logic, you can even send visitors without the app installed to the app store to get it.
Branch.io (full disclosure: I'm on the team) can handle all of this for you and also does what is known as 'deferred deep linking', which means you can still route users without the app to the correct page after they have downloaded it.

Xamarin iOS Universal Links support for Twitter Auth

So, now twitter from 25 sep supports universal linking, it means that when UIWebView hits https://twitter.com/oauth/authorize?oauth_token link, it tries to open a twitter app, and if it is there, then it redirects me to auth page with auth error, so I wonder, how can I disable it from code, without uninstalling twitter app, or how I can enable universal linking auth in my xamarin ios app? Is it possible at all?
(similar question but for native: Disable Twitter Universal Deep Links)
Unless Twitter removes/updates the apps section of "https://www.twitter.com/apple-app-site-association" to allow a bypass or a secondary oauth that is not in the apple-app-site-association file I do not see how you would do it. These files are signed and iOS handles them at an OS level.
I have not played around very much with the continueUserActivity delegate and the NSUserActivity object that is passed to apps launched from UNI links, but I do not see a way for the launched app (i.e. Twitter) to return control to the original app, and at that point the oauth call-chain would be broken anyway....
Unique. Unlike custom URL schemes, universal links can’t be claimed by other apps, because they use standard HTTP or HTTPS links to your website.
Secure. When users install your app, iOS checks a file that you’ve uploaded to your web server to make sure that your website allows your app to open URLs on its behalf. Only you can create and upload this file, so the association of your website with your app is secure.
Via: https://developer.apple.com/library/prerelease/ios/documentation/General/Conceptual/AppSearch/UniversalLinks.html

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