To open a website link directly in an installed Android app, implement verified Android App Links. To continue a Google Play install journey after the app is installed, retrieve and process Play Install Referrer data. These are related but separate mechanisms: an App Link does not, by itself, preserve an arbitrary clicked URL through installation.
This guide explains how to choose and implement each path, test it, and plan a migration from Firebase Dynamic Links, which shut down on August 25, 2025.
What deferred deep linking means on Android
Android deep links route a URI to an activity in your app. There are two different moments to consider:
- The app is already installed: a verified App Link can open a matching website URL in your app.
- The app is not installed: the user may install it through Google Play, then the app can retrieve referral data from Play Install Referrer on first launch and use that data to choose a destination.
Install Referrer is not a universal deferred deep-linking service. It is Google Play referral data that your app can use as an input to its own routing logic. If you need hosted short links, cross-platform deferred journeys, or link analytics, evaluate a specialist provider separately.
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Choose the link path that matches the journey
| Need | Use | Important boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Open your website URL in the installed Android app | Verified Android App Links | The app and website must establish a verified domain association. |
| Use referral information after an app install from Google Play | Play Install Referrer | It returns Play referral data; it does not guarantee a universal cross-platform continuation flow. |
| Support hosted short links, cross-platform deferred routing, or link analytics | Assess a specialist provider | Confirm current platform support, SDK needs, data handling, reporting, and commercial terms with the provider. |
Android Developers recommends App Links for links to a developer’s own website because the verified association allows a seamless, trusted opening experience. App Links have been supported since Android 6 / API 23, according to the Android Developers overview.
Implement verified Android App Links
Declare the website URL patterns
Add an intent filter to the activity that should receive the links. Declare the schemes, host, and URL patterns your app supports, and set android:autoVerify="true" so Android can verify the association. Keep the manifest scope to the URLs the app is prepared to handle; incoming URIs still need application-level validation.
Publish the domain association
Serve a valid Digital Asset Links statement at /.well-known/assetlinks.json on the website domain. The statement must identify the Android app package and its SHA-256 signing-certificate fingerprint. Use the fingerprint for the app signing configuration distributed to users; a mismatch can prevent verification.
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Route the received URI safely
In the receiving activity, inspect the incoming intent and its URI. Parse the path and any supported parameters, map them to an internal destination, and reject malformed or unsupported values. Do not treat a URL parameter as permission to open an arbitrary destination or perform an unvalidated action.
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Continue a Google Play install journey with Install Referrer
For a new install through Google Play, make the referral payload available to the app through the Play Install Referrer flow. Google documents a Play Install Referrer Client Library for Kotlin and Java, as well as an underlying AIDL API. The API is exposed by the Play Store app and requires a Play Console account.
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The returned information can include the install referrer URL, client and server click timestamps, client and server install timestamps, and the install version. Google documents the information as available for 90 days and advises querying once on the app’s first execution after install to avoid unnecessary requests.
- Build the Play install journey. Include a referral payload that identifies an allowed destination or campaign for the app to interpret after installation.
- Retrieve the referrer on first execution. Integrate the documented Install Referrer client flow and request the data when the newly installed app first runs.
- Validate before routing. Parse the returned referrer, check that its destination and parameters are supported, and safely handle missing, malformed, expired, or unrecognized data.
- Resume at the right time. If onboarding or authentication must happen first, preserve the validated destination according to your app’s state-management approach, then route when the user is ready.
Do not rely on this flow for installs that did not pass through Google Play, or assume it supplies every capability offered by a hosted linking service.
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On Android 15 / API 35 and later, Dynamic App Links can use server-side Digital Asset Links rules in assetlinks.json to refine handling by path, query parameter, fragment, and exclusion. This can let a team adjust supported routing rules on the server rather than requiring an app release for every refinement.
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The manifest remains the maximum scope: server rules can refine the declared URL coverage, but cannot extend it to URLs the manifest did not include. Earlier Android versions ignore the dynamic rules, so any paths that must work on older supported devices need static manifest coverage. Android’s documentation describes periodic retrieval of the rules on Android 15+ devices with Google services; do not expect a server-side change to appear immediately on every device.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Test installation, verification, and routing separately
Test the installed-app and not-installed journeys as separate cases. Include the Android versions and device configurations your app supports, and verify both the operating-system link opening and the app’s eventual in-app destination.
If a link opens in a browser or shows a chooser
- Confirm the intent filter covers the exact scheme, host, and paths being tested, and includes
android:autoVerify="true". - Check that
assetlinks.jsonis valid JSON, reachable over HTTPS at the required well-known path, and served without redirects. - Verify that the app package and SHA-256 fingerprint in the file match the app signing identity users receive.
- Use Android Studio’s App Links Assistant or the Play Console deep-link tools to inspect setup, then re-verify the association.
If a Dynamic App Link rule does not appear to take effect
Check that the URL falls inside the manifest’s declared scope, that the device runs Android 15 / API 35 or later and has Google services, and that the server rule is valid. Because rules are retrieved periodically, force a re-verification during testing rather than expecting an immediate device update. Android documents this command:
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adb shell pm verify-app-links --re-verify <your-package-name>
If the post-install destination is wrong
Inspect the referrer data your app actually receives and the app’s parsing and routing decisions. Test absent, malformed, unsupported, and valid payloads, including journeys that pause for onboarding or authentication. Keep the fallback destination safe and useful when a referral cannot be applied.
What replaced Firebase Dynamic Links?
Firebase Dynamic Links shut down on August 25, 2025. Firebase states that its served links stopped working and new links could no longer be created after that date, so it is not an option for a new implementation.
Migration depends on what the old links did. Move website URLs that should open an installed Android app to verified App Links; use Universal Links as applicable for Apple platforms. For a Google Play install flow on Android, Play Install Referrer can provide referral data for the app to process. If the existing experience also depended on post-download continuation across platforms, short links, or analytics, those are separate requirements to evaluate rather than capabilities to assume from App Links or Install Referrer.
Firebase’s migration guidance and FAQ name Adjust, Airbridge, AppsFlyer, Bitly, Branch, Kochava, and Singular as examples of providers to consider. Those names are examples, not endorsements. Confirm each provider’s current behavior, platform coverage, link migration options, SDK requirements, data practices, reporting, and price before choosing one; feature parity should not be assumed.
Quick Recap
Implementation checklist
- Choose App Links for verified opening of your own website URLs on installed Android apps.
- Choose Play Install Referrer when the journey specifically needs referral data from a Google Play install.
- Declare and verify only the URL scope your app can safely handle; validate the incoming URI or referrer before routing.
- For Dynamic App Links, maintain static manifest coverage for older Android versions and keep server rules within that manifest scope.
- Test installed and new-install flows independently, including failure paths and the versions and devices your users rely on.
- For cross-platform deferred links, hosted redirects, short links, or analytics, compare providers against the actual requirements instead of treating Android-native mechanisms as a complete substitute.
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