Could you please tell me the main difference in coding when changing from old custom url scheme to universal binding(Deep linking in iOS) introduced by iOS from iOS 9 onwards?
I believe that deep linking is still possible using custom url scheme. Is that correct? Thanks in advance.
I have referred the following links,
https://blog.branch.io/ios-9-2-redirection-update-uri-scheme-and-universal-links/
https://blog.branch.io/ios-9.2-deep-linking-guide-transitioning-to-universal-links/
But I would like to get a simple answer. So I rely on stack overflow :)
Universal link: more suited for web that all pages are linking with the app, you bind a pattern on your app and a json on your page for ios to recognize, dont need know the pattern of the other app to open it, more secure
URL scheme: create a pattern and your web redirect to that url so iOS can recognize, it show error if the app is not install, need to know the app scheme to open (also need list in plist)
They can be use together
That would be incorrect: beginning with iOS 9.2, Apple discontinued support for opening apps via URI Scheme. Universal Links were introduced with iOS 9.0 and as of iOS 9.2 they have been the only way to open apps via links.
URI Schemes were easier to configure than Universal Links, as they required little more than a single entry in the project's .plist file and code to handle the link in the didFinishLaunchingWithOptions and openURL functions of the AppDelegate class.
Universal Links rely on a remote "AASA" file to map links to apps. Configuration involves creating and hosting the AASA file and adding the associated-domains entitlement to the app (you do not need to worry about the AASA file if you are using Branch).
Universal Linking requires that there be code to handle referring links in the didFinishLaunchingWithOptions and continueUserActivity functions of the AppDelegate class.
No, customer URL scheme's would be removed in the upcoming versions of iOS since it is not secure and has a lot of privacy issues i.e, App A can get to know whether you are using B, like Facebook can know whether you are using Tinder. So universal links is the right way to go now.
Related
I was using a website, and noticed that from my iphone on Safari, I could directly install their app from the Web UI. This was from the top of the page at https://flytap.com/ . I can't find what this is called or how to do it anywhere in the iOS documentation. This only seems to work in Safari.
Does anyone know what they are doing, or how I can do it?
This is done via adding Universal Link support (documentation here).
The banner you are seeing is the Universal Link smart banner (documentation here).
In-short, you should have a website, the website should be SSL enabled, you need to add an apple-app-site-association-file which defines the links your app needs to handle, make changes in your app to handle Universal Links and you should be good to go.
The app you shared has its apple-app-site-association file here. You can view this file for any app that supports Universal Links using the pattern https://<SITE_BASE_URL>/.well-known/apple-app-site-association or https://<SITE_BASE_URL>/apple-app-site-association.
I have a cordova app which uses the AppAvailability Plugin (https://www.npmjs.com/package/cordova-plugin-appavailability) and I have to find out if a specific app is installed. Its easy on Android, since I just know the packagename, but on IOS I have to know the URI Scheme or the DeepLink (eg. myapp://).
But I just seems to not be able to find out how to get it. Example is the asos.com.au website and their app. The Package name is 'com.asos.app', so that part is solved.
But if you go on the website (or in my usecase, if you are forwarding to their website) it opens the app if is available. And if it is available I want to have my app know that it wont redirect to the website (this is actually pretty important).
So, on IOS I have to know this URI Scheme.
Any Ideas?
This sounds like asos.com has implemented deep linking, and indeed http://www.asos.com/apple-app-site-association is present and looks good. Find more documentation here: https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/General/Conceptual/AppSearch/UniversalLinks.html
I need to implement Deep Linking concept without using any third party libraries (Branch and etc..). The link (starts with http/https) will be shared from app through Message, Email or any Social media apps. By tapping on shared link I want to open corresponding app if its already installed on device else it should navigate to the Apple Store to download the app.
I have knowledge on URL schemas but it works only when the app is already installed on device and the schema URL format also be different (like fb:// for Facebook app).
I have also done some R&D on Universal Links but I don't know whether it supports for dynamic links as for me the link will be combination of base URL(static) and referrer key(dynamic). I also need to track the referrer information once the corresponding app is opened like who referred this app (referrer details).
e.g: https://domain.com/ReferrerID
Can you please help me on it. Thanks in advance.
To make it clear on Universal Links in iOS will not take you to Apple Store if app is not installed on device. When you click on a link then Universal Links helps you to open the app if the app is already installed on device else the same link will be going to browse in Safari. When the url browse in Safari then we have to run JavaScript to navigate/redirect to Apple Store.
Yes you can support universal links to your application from iOS 9 or above. You can generate dynamic links and have deferred deep linking also.
Follow this steps its simple Click Here
For the file mentioned in the link you need to add that file in the root of your website which consists of the path valid for deeplinking. And that file should not have any extension.
Then validate your domain at Here.
After that you can add all the domains thing in your associated domain under the project capabilites.
I tested the dynamic links Firebase. Configured everything in the project, the implementation did exactly like the Google documentation and created links on the console. When I test in Safari it does not open the application.
Thank you
iOS 9+
Due to the limitations on the iOS platform, Firebase Dynamic Links must rely on Apple's Universal Link system to open the app directly from a link when it is installed. One of the constraints placed on Universal Links is that the app-open behavior is only triggered from a user's click and not by a redirect or copy/paste into Safari.
We have found it very challenging to test Universal Links in the simulator and pretty much always use a real device for this type of thing. Basic steps: install app > SMS link to your test device > click link > observe app open.
iOS 8 and prior
iOS versions prior to 9 handle opening the app from a Dynamic Link through Safari, so if the app is not opening when you copy/paste the link into Safari then some setup is incomplete. Please review your Firebase project for information and confirm that your bundle IDs/custom schemes match on the project page, in your link, and in your app; be sure that the bundle ID is listed in URL Types in your Xcode project setup along with any custom scheme you wish to use.
Other Info
Here is a link to a prior answer that may be helpful as well.
Firebase dynamic link not opening the app iOS
We have a need to support 100+ domains in our entitlements file for Universal Links.
Example:
applinks:test.myapp.com
applinks:blah.myapp.com
applinks:foo.bar.com
etc...
I know that *.myapp.com will be supported in iOS 9.3, but is there a way to do this elegantly for customers using iOS 9.0 to 9.2 without having to manually add 100+ entries to the entitlements file? Is there a way to do this without having to rebuild and re-release our app every time we need to add a domain to the list?
Thanks!
The new wildcard support in iOS 9.3 is designed for exactly the situation you're describing, so there isn't really a solid alternative in earlier OS versions.
If you don't want to worry about continually updating the list of subdomain applinks entries (or even if you do, but need to wait for App Store review), the best workaround is probably hosting fallback pages on each subdomain with a call-to-action the user can use to continue into the app. That would work as follows:
Assume that you have applinks:mydomain.com configured.
User opens a link to new.mydomain.com/exciting-page (which is NOT covered by the entitlement above).
User sees a custom interstitial, functionally similar to something like this. On this interstitial is a link pointing to mydomain.com/new/exciting-page
User opens the link and the app launches.
The only thing I am not sure about is whether mydomain.com and new.mydomain.com count as 'different domains' for the purpose of Universal Links, since Universal Linking functionality is disabled in Safari for links within the same domain (source). If this turns out not to work, you could easily use something like applinks:mydomain.io and a link to mydomain.io/new/exciting-page in step 3 instead.