What is deferred deep linking?
Deferred deep linking keeps a link’s destination when the app is not installed yet. The person installs from the store, and the first open still routes to the content they clicked. A normal deep link only works if the app is already installed. Deeplink (deeplink.in) stores that click so the first session can resume it.
Why the store drops context
A campaign click and an app install are two different events. The click happens in a browser or another app. The install happens in the App Store or Google Play. Those stores do not, by themselves, hand your original URL to the binary on first launch. If you only redirect to the store, the app opens on its default home screen and the product, offer, or invite that motivated the install is gone.
Deferred deep linking is the glue between those events. Something that saw the click has to recognize the new install and pass the original destination into the first session. The match might use a store referrer on Android, a device-side handshake, or another method the SDK implements. The user-visible result is the same: first open continues the journey instead of restarting it.
This matters for invites, abandoned carts, passwordless flows, and any ad that promised a specific screen. It does not replace onboarding. It only restores the address the person already chose. If the destination itself requires an account the person does not have, the app still has to handle that state after it receives the URL.
How a Deeplink click is remembered
You create a link with a path and a fallback URL. Someone without the app taps it. Deeplink can send them to the store or to the web fallback you configured. The click is stored against that link so a later first open can be tied back to it. The product copy in this codebase describes that path as preserving click intent through install to first open, including install-referrer and matching flows where those are available.
After the app is opened, the SDK or API resolution is what turns the stored click into a destination the app can navigate to. The public docs at docs.deeplink.in are the integration reference for that call. This guide does not invent SDK method names beyond what the marketing site and dashboard already describe: create the link, route the tap, and read clicks and installs afterward.
Analytics then shows the click, the install when one is recorded, and a click-to-install conversion rate. You can split those numbers by location, platform, and device. UTM parameters saved on the link tell you which campaign the click belonged to. That is the measurement available in the dashboard today.
What deferred deep linking is not
It is not a guarantee that every install will match. People switch devices, wait days, or install from a search that never touched your link. A match rate below 100 percent is normal, and this site does not publish a match-rate number. TODO: [fact needed] the match method Deeplink uses on each platform, and any published match window, if the team wants that stated on this page.
It is also not a substitute for domain verification. Universal Links and Android App Links still decide whether an installed app opens immediately, before any store visit. Deferred deep linking is the path for the person who has to install first. Both behaviors belong on the same URL so you do not maintain one link for customers and another for prospects.
Steps
- Create the link before the campaign. Set the path, fallback URL, and UTMs. Confirm the app record has the Android package and iOS bundle details you actually ship.
- Send new users through that URL. Do not send prospects to a bare store listing if you need the original screen. The store visit should start from the Deeplink URL so the click exists.
- Resolve the destination on first open. Integrate the SDK or the documented resolve call so the first session reads the stored destination and navigates to it.
- Compare clicks and installs. Use the link analytics to see clicks, installs, and the click-to-install rate for that campaign.
Deep link versus deferred deep link
| App already installed | App not installed | |
|---|---|---|
| Deep link only | Opens the screen | Store or web page, context often lost after install |
| Deferred deep link | Opens the screen | Store or web page, then the original screen on first open |
Example
An email promotes a single order status URL on your link domain. A customer who already has the app opens the order. A customer who does not have the app installs it, and the first open still requests that order path because the click was stored. If the order requires a login, the app shows login and then the order. The link does not create the account.
Frequently asked questions
Does deferred deep linking work on Android and iOS?
Yes. Deeplink supports deferred deep linking on both. Android can use the install referrer where that signal is available. iOS uses the matching flow the SDK provides, because Apple does not give a public install-referrer equivalent. Test both with a real device that does not already have the app.
What should I measure?
Start with clicks, installs, and the click-to-install conversion rate on the link. Add UTM parameters so each campaign is distinct. A destination match after first open is the product question deferred deep linking is meant to answer. TODO: [fact needed] whether the dashboard exposes a separate match-rate metric beyond click-to-install.
Get started
Create a Deeplink account to make a link, set a web fallback, and review click and install analytics.
Create a Deeplink accountRead about Deeplink pricingOpen the Deeplink documentation