Existing user of the app will send email to other user.
Other user may have app installed or not installed on their device.
The email will contain some token. Now I want to pass that token to my app. I have read that by deep-linking, its possible. But how will I handle the case when other user have not installed my app yet in their IOS device.
Any help is appreciated.
What you're describing is called Deferred Deep Linking (Deep Linking refers to using a link to open your app, even directly to a specific piece of content, and Deferred means that it works even if the app isn't installed first).
Unfortunately there's no native way to accomplish this yet on either iOS or Android. URL schemes don't work, because they always fail if the app isn't installed. Apple's new Universal Links in iOS 9 get closer, but you'd still have to handle redirecting the user from your website to the App Store
A free service like Branch.io (full disclosure: they're so awesome I work with them) can handle all of this for you though. Here's the docs page covering exactly how to create email links like you described: https://docs.branch.io/pages/emails/email-partners-list/
Related
I want to implement deferred deep linking in my iOS app as a means of tracking referrals. When a user of my app wants to refer a friend, I'll generate a URL that has a unique referral code. When the other person receives the link and opens it, I want it to take them to my app's page in the App Store. Then if they install my app, when it first opens, I need a way for it to read the referral code from the original URL.
I've found may pages about deferred deep linking on the web but none that really explain how to do it. Instead, these pages all end up telling you to install some third-party code or use some commercial service. This isn't what I'm after. I want to learn how to do this myself.
There are lots of old pages out there that recommend convoluted and error-prone solutions, like tracking the user's IP address, putting the referral code into the clipboard, or somehow obtaining it from a cookie in a web view. I don't think these are the correct solutions to be using in 2022.
If anyone can recommend the appropriate resource, I'd appreciate it.
If it is the case that Apple simply doesn't want us to do this and doesn't provide any support for it, then I'd like to know that too. I was under the impression that they did, but maybe I'm wrong.
Thanks,
Frank
Apple's Universal Links allow for this (would understand the difference between the typical URL Scheme and Universal Links as threshold). This assumes you're willing to do some lifting server-side along with other hurdles on the iOS side, largely administrative.
A benefit of Universal Links and the server-side work is that you're provided a fallback webpage if a user does not have the app installed. Since the app should open if downloaded, you could typically just redirect to the app store from this URL. In this case, though, before any redirects, you could execute an operation to decode the unique params passed in the URL and persist it in a remote data store. The data encoded needs to be required and verifiably unique during your registration -- email seems ideal.
If that's feasible, your standard registration flow could require email verification with a link to the app as a mandatory entry point (think slack magic link). When the user submits his/her email to verify, you could first check that email against your data store to see if it maps to any previously decoded referrals saved from the flow above. If so, you could generate a unique link for this email to your app with params that will direct the deferred/deep link.
The good news is, I found a solution. I could construct a web page that redirects the user to the app store, but before doing so, copies some text into their clipboard (without telling them or asking them to do anything). Then later if they install my app I can get the text by pasting from the clipboard. I tested this idea and it works.
The bad news is, starting with iOS 16, Apple now asks you for permission to paste. So if you try to do this, your user will launch your app and immediately get promoted with a message asking them to allow a paste from Safari. I expect most users will deny the request and just the fact that they saw it will erode their trust in the app (I know I wouldn't trust an app that tried consume my clipboard without a direct command from me).
I am planning to use app link from FBSDK to invite using my iOS app via email.
I know if my iOS app was installed on the device it will be opened when I select the link and handle invite token in URL.
But how about if my app was not installed?
After user install it from App Store can I handle invite token also?
Hope anyone used to work with this scenario can help me.
There are a lot of reasons why what you're trying to do won't come out the way you want it to. Let's dive in...
App Links don't work anymore
Facebook created App Links in 2014 as an open standard to solve the limitations of URI scheme deep links. App Links have two main components:
A set of meta tags to add to the web page destination of a standard http:// link. These tags specify the custom URI scheme location of corresponding content inside the native app, and the behavior that should occur if the app is not installed.
A routing engine for use inside apps that support opening links. This engine checks the destination URL for App Links tags before opening it, and then launches the corresponding app or executes the specified fallback behavior.
App Links were supposed to be an open-source standard to change the world, making app-to-app deep linking simple and universal. Unfortunately Facebook has decided they actually don't want that world (it's much better for them to keep users inside the Facebook app — see Instant Articles if you don't believe me), meaning the App Links standard is essentially dead. It's no longer supported on the iOS Facebook app, and Applinks.org isn't even a separate website now.
App Links were not designed to work with email (or essentially any app except Facebook)
Even if it were still supported by Facebook, the App Links standard has a critical flaw: it requires work by both the origin and destination apps. While the meta tags component saw wide adoption, the only major implementations of the routing engine were in the core Facebook and Messenger apps.
To function as you want, where deep linking can occur from links in emails, the routing engine component would need to be implemented in any email app where your link could possibly be clicked. This was never going to happen for apps like the default iOS Mail app from Apple, or the Gmail app, for example.
App Links had no meaningful support for deferred deep linking
Deferred Deep Linking (Deep Linking refers to using a link to open your app directly to a specific piece of content, and Deferred means that it works even if the app isn't installed first) requires a remote server to close the loop. You can build this yourself, but you really shouldn't for a lot of reasons, not the least of which being you have more important things to do. You'll notice that neither of the two App Links components included a remove server to retain link data through install, so deferred deep linking was never properly supported in the core App Links standard. Facebook ads make use of the partial support for deferred deep linking offered by the FBSDK in conjunction with App Links, but this only works when the link/ad is clicked within a Facebook app and the receiving app has the FBSDK integrated.
Deferred deep linking is tough anyway
Moving on from App Links, deferred deep linking is still complicated. URL schemes don't work, because they always fail with an error if the app isn't installed. Apple's newer Universal Links in iOS 9+ get closer in that they at least don't trigger an error if the app isn't installed, but you'd still have to handle redirecting the user from your website to the App Store. You can't pass context through to the app after install with Universal Links, so you wouldn't be able to send the user to the correct item, and they actually aren't supported in a lot of places.
Deep linking out of email on iOS is very hard
Almost all email links involve some sort of click tracking, which is always implemented as a link wrapping redirect. This isn't technically a problem if the user doesn't have your app installed, but if they do, Universal Links don't work with wrapped links. If you're building it yourself, you'll either need to completely disable click tracking in your emails, or accept that deep links won't work there.
Bottom Line
App Links were never the solution you needed. A free service like Branch.io (full disclosure: they're so awesome I work with them) or Firebase Dynamic Links is what you need. Both services support deferred deep linking, out of Facebook or almost any email app. Branch is more powerful and offers far more features, and works with major email senders to offer a solution for deep linked email (the only one on the market today).
I'm trying to implement Firebase Dynamic Links in an iOS app. The goal is to have a clean URL for marketing purposes so folks can share links on social media. The idea is folks will share the clean URL that starts with my domain name.
When the app is installed following a click on that link, we want to be able to track who referred the app install by looking at the payload delivered by Firebase. I think this goal is similar to Firebase's use case to convert web users to mobile app users.
An example link I would like to provide for sharing on social media is: http://example.com/my-payload-here
I've tried several cases but I'm not able to get the behavior I'm looking for in any case. Has anyone implemented this successfully before?
Here is my test procedure:
Uninstall the app
Send the link to be tested in an iMessage to myself
Tap the link on my iOS device (not using a simulator)
Install the app from the App Store
Launch the app after download completes by tapping "Open" button in the App Store
Below are my findings:
Short link generated from the Firebase Console (https://xyz.app.goo.gl/ABCD) - Link opens in App Store. I install the app. When I launch the app after installing, the payload is not delivered. If I quit out of the app, go back to the link in iMessage, and launch a second time, the payload is delivered.
Long link identical to the "Long Dynamic Link" from the Firebase console for the link generated in #1 (https://xyz.app.goo.gl/?link=http://example.com/my-payload-here&isi=12345&ibi=com.example.MyApp) - behavior is identical to #1
Short link using my domain (http://example.com/redirect/my-payload-here, configured to 301 redirect to URL in #2) - Opens in App Store. I install. When I launch the app after installing, the payload is not delivered. If I quit out of the app, go back to the link in iMessage, and launch a second time, the link still goes to the App Store.
Some questions I have:
Why isn't the payload delivered on the first launch for cases 1 and 2?
How can we make this launch the app and deliver the payload instead of going to the App Store?
I've also consulted the Firebase flowchart for the deep link in case 2.
Google Firebase team added support for custom subdomains to Dynamic Links.
You can now specify up to five custom page.link subdomains for your Dynamic Links. Short links using these new custom subdomains look like the following example: https://example.page.link/abcXYZ
Firebase Dynamic Link domains assigned on projects couldn't be deleted at this time.( firebase team is working on it.)
You can now whitelist the URL patterns that can be used as a Dynamic Link's deep link (link) or fallback link (ifl, ipfl, afl, ofl). If you define a whitelist, Dynamic Links won't redirect to URLs that don't match a whitelisted pattern.
You can try both of these features in the Firebase console.
This is not currently possible with Firebase. If you need whitelabeled URLs, you either need to build it yourself or use a more powerful link platform like Branch.io (full disclosure: I'm on the Branch team).
To answer your questions specifically:
I have implemented Firebase Dynamic Links in a testbed app and can confirm that linking through installation the first time does work for both long and short URL variants. There is likely something wrong with your AppDelegate config, so we can take a look at that if you want to share code.
Firebase does not support custom domains at this time. In theory (if you can solve the first issue above) you could get this working for first install by using a redirect like you have tried. However, you'll never be able to get it to launch the app with Firebase link data once the app is installed. This is because Universal Links work based on the domain of the link, and don't even request the web destination. Even if you enable Universal Links manually on your own domain, the app will open immediately without ever calling Firebase and the link data will never be set.
Objective: i want to fetch my custom parameter(referrer) from iTunes link upon installation of my application in device.
iTunes links look somethings like this:
https://itunes.apple.com/in/app/complete-gym-guide-lite/id550449574?mt=8
If i append my parameter say(&referrer=xyz)at the end and i open this url in ios safari browser then it will prompt to download the application.
Confusion: will app store send my parameter(referrer) to my application on launch so that i can fetch it in my application and use it.
In case of Android play store link look like this: http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=&referrer=guid%3D%guid%
As you can see referrer parameter at the end of url. Once app is installed in device then play store will send this parameter to app using INSTALL_REFERRER broadcast receiver. We can use this parameter.
What i tried OR Other people doing for conversion tracking: Other people are simply sending static data to their server at the first time opening of app and maintain a flag in NSDefault to make sure that app does not send same data again. I can also do the same as well as alternate ways suggested in below links but i want to do something with custom parameter.
I have already seen below links:
iOS - track which ad campaigns my installs are coming from
Tracking iOS installs from multiple marketing sources
Please help me out.
As #Aditya said, for now, Apple is not sending any referrer (or params) from iTunes to installation.
The only way you have it's to use a third party sdk to get your installations.
I have been working on a own sdk to get this but the way to get any info it's really hard and not really confident to use it. So endly we used some third party which are using many techniques to getting this (as fingerprint data, App2App methods, etc...)
I have tested appsflyer sdk and facebook sdk, they work as expected, use this or any else you prefer.
Hope this helps
I setup a Mobile App using the developer's panel and added all the correct information as mentioned in the tutorial video on the Facebook SDK page.
It's a native iOS app so I supplied the bundle ID and the App Store ID. I've installed the SDK and Facebook is registering installs whenever I run it on my device.
However once I tried to use the "Promote" feature to setup install ads it keeps getting rejected by Facebook on the grounds that the URL is bad. The URL works fine as I've tested it multiple times. The URL is generated by Facebook itself using the App ID.
I've tried submitting it again after changing the creative, but I'm assuming I've been blacklisted since it immediately is disapproved.
What can I do?
Is your app limited to a certain region or country?
My ad was also disapproved and this is what I got:
"The destination URL of this ad violates our Ad Guidelines or could not be reviewed. Please check the URL you have submitted to ensure that it is free of any spelling errors and that it complies with our Advertising Guidelines. Please note that all sites must be viewable and functioning properly, regardless of the viewer's location. Additionally, sites are prohibited from linking to proprietary file types (.pdf, .doc, etc,) initiating automatic downloads, or trapping a user's browser in any way (e.g., pop-ups of any kind).
"
In my case the only logical explanation would be the availability of the app, as it is only available in one country. I link directly to the app store so that should not be a problem...
Sorry for my reply, i know it's not very helpful, but there is so little info on the web about it. I need to do detective work in order to understand what is happening.
I had the exact same thing. I think Facebook changed a ton of stuff in their ads dashboard. I created a new ad yesterday and it was finally approved. Try again.