Dynamic links in Facebook mobile app is not deep linked to app

RobLabs picture RobLabs · May 27, 2016 · Viewed 10.3k times · Source

Problem — when opening a Firebase Dynamic Link on Facebook Mobile, the Facebook Browser consumes the deep link and does not open the intended mobile app

Question — is there a good workaround in Firebase to help Facebook deliver on the promise of presenting my Dynamic Link as intended?

We are aware of http://applinks.org, and that Facebook is a contributor. Does Firebase have a way to configure their server using the AppLinks spec so that Facebook will pass through the Deep Link to our app instead of consuming it?

Background — I have created a Firebase Dynamic Link for an iOS and Android app.

The Dynamic link delivers everything I expect and is a fantastic experience.

  1. When opened on iOS, it navigates to the App. If not installed, it goes App Store
  2. When opened on Android, it navigates to the App. If not installed, goes to Play Store
  3. When opened on non-mobile, it navigates to our Website
  4. On Facebook mobile, neither 1 nor 2 happens. The result is that it goes straight to the mobile web experience, thereby eliminating the promise of the Firebase Dynamic Link

Answer

German picture German · Jun 15, 2016

To avoid this cases we made a webpage which redirects to firebase dynamic link. With this solution we can:

  1. Use our domain, not the firebase url.
  2. Ensure that firebase links works in every cases, for example when it opens from a custom browser (fb, samsung).

The disadvantage of doing this is that you'll always need to pass through a web page with an redirect.