An example of an AppsFlyer link would be https://app.appsflyer.com/id111111111?pid=my_pid&c=campaign1
this link redirects to the AppStore.
When we launch / install the app, we have the information inside the (Ios) app.
I thought that maybe some cookies are stored by the browser, and then retrieved inside the app. But in my researches I found that it is impossible to share cookies between applications (Web browser and my app).
Understanding NSHTTPCookieStorage for the iPhone
Could someone list me the possibilities for doing that?
1) Cookies?
2) External storage?
And in android? how would this be done?
Another related question:
Does anyone knows how to use AppsFlyer push/pull API?
https://support.appsflyer.com/entries/23655166-Pull-APIs-Pulling-AppsFlyer-Reports-by-APIs
Thanks a lot
AppsFlyer pass the information to the app using a specific http call.
When a user press on the link the parameters are saved on Appsflyer's servers and the user is redirected to the specific app page on the app store, once the user install the app (with the Appsflyer's SDK) and launch it, the circle is closed and attribution is made.
The Attribution/conversion data is passed to the app via the SDK, cookies are not involved in this case.
Related
We're developing a mobile app where we need to gracefully handle invitation links to join a team with just a URL. We're researching the best way to do this in both iOS and Android and there seems to be a lot of different solutions over the years, to the point that it's worth asking the community and updating the general knowledge on this topic.
Using native "Deferred Deep Linking" to pass information to the newly installed app
Clipboard approach to pass data from link --> newly opened app (brittle if something is copied between original link usage and opening the app)
Cookie within browser which is checked after installation - deprecated because of security
Pass URL parameters to the app stores - doable in Google Play Store natively, Apple does not allow unique data (privacy, App Tracking Transparency [ATT], etc)
Using third party services like Branch.io, AppsFlyer.com, Firebase Dynamic Links - most
Seems like the most sensible approach would be to use Google Play Native capability + a robust implementation in iOS where you 1) pass a URL parameter to the Apple App Store letting the newly installed app know that there's an invitation in progress, 2) use the Clipboard approach to pass data, 3) if data is not available, but URL parameter for installation present --> prompt user to open the browser to continue invite process (deep link at that point).
How are you doing this or would do this if you had to enable this kind of functionality?
I want to make a link to send it in a email so when the receptor clicks it send him directlly to the app (ios or android) if he has it installed or to the browser if he has not the app
Linkendin mails (for example) do that, but i don't know how.
Thanks a lot.
Edit: My app is an hibryd app developed with Cordova
Firebase Dynamic Links are links that work the way you want, on
multiple platforms, and whether or not your app is already installed.
Check this https://firebase.google.com/docs/dynamic-links/
I have articles which are posted on Facebook for our subscribers and when a user clicks in one of the links they get re-directed to a mobile-site where they login, the problem is now after a a few days 2-3 days the mobile site asks them to authenticate again.
Im guessing Facebook in app browser clears my cookies but what i need to know is how does it manage its cookies especially for external sites. I tried the Facebook developer website there's no documentation on how this in app webview/browser works.
Background Info
Facebook in app browser is rather a webview which renders all the links which user's browse so instead of delegating the rendering to an external browser it handles everything on its own. This comes with limited functionality of course, Facebook added this in app browsing functionality to keep user's in session, because most of the time if user's make use of external browsers they don't come back into the app.
With the above background information Facebook browser is accessible to developer's in a sense that they may choose to use Deep-Linking if the browser doesn't conform to their specifications because the browser is closed i.e you can not modify or rather interact with it, thats why the deep linking functionality allows for developers to give user's an option to choose wether they wish to use their app this is if they have it installed in their mobile devices.
Cookies
Cookie management entirely depends on the In-app browser which if a user wishes to clear them then they can do so via their app settings. Since Facebook in-app browser manages its own cookies thus if a webpage is rendered by the in-app browser it will entirely depend of the in-app browser if its time to clear them from the device.
Deep Linking Overview
App Links is an open standard to deep link to content in your app. When someone using your app shares content to Facebook or another App Links-enabled app you can create a link that makes it possible to jump back into your app from that piece of content.
App Links work by adding metadata to existing URLs on the web so that they can be consumed by your app. If your app doesn't have a web presence with content you can annotate, you can also use a Facebook-provided service to host the data.
The Facebook's app for iOS and Android support App Links today. When the Facebook app comes across a link that supports App Links it will launch your app with the right information so someone can see the content immediately and quickly.
How App Linking Works
A person clicks on a story on Facebook
If someone shares a story on Facebook with content from your app, people can click on the story to view the content in your app. The URL shared to Facebook contains App Link metadata or be a Facebook-hosted URL.
Facebook app looks up the URL to see if it supports App Links
Once someone clicks on a story, the Facebook App does a lookup to see if the content supports App Links. if it does, the Facebook App takes people to your content, either in a web view or by launching your app and linking to the content, depending on the following criteria:
Whether people have your app installed
Whether the device is and Android or iOS device
Whether your app is mobile only
App Links has the following requirements:
If the content is a web page, your web page must include markup to let the app know what app should be launched.
If the content is mobile only, you must still supply a valid http(s) URL that hosts the App Link metadata. Facebook provides a Hosting API for App Links to make it easy for app developers to support App Links content without having to set up a web server.
In order to accept incoming App Links, your app will need to be set up to support them. We cover how to do that for both iOS and Android.
Launching Outbound Apps
It's possible for any app to do what the Facebook app does and add support to launch other apps based on App Links. If you've got an app where people want to click through to links instead of just going to inbound links, we've also provided a document that covers how to add support for the outbound navigation protocolto your app.
Is there anyway to track visits that come from facebook app ?
I tried php http_referer but it didn't work.
You won't be able to do it unless Facebook decides to add a referrer when it sends the URL out of the app and the users' OSs and browsers receive it and pass it along. Referring URLs are passed to the server by the browser and, due to increasing privacy concerns, are slowing disappearing in general.
If you're curious about where traffic to your site is originating, you're going to have to ask the user directly unless you work directly with Facebook on some type of integration.
I want my app users to be able to share one of the app pages to others as an external web link as a good marketing strategy, so people who don't have the app can view this page and get excited hopefully to download and register although no one can view the app without signed in, for now I have the app and its web domain I didn't build the website yet, What is the efficient way to do so ?
You can write some code on the server to receive the data, store it and then serve it back (php/mysql or java or anything else). The easiest way to do it is to make a form and to send a request from the android app to simulate a filled-in form.
You could also just publish to Facebook or Google+, there are APIs to do that from and Android app.