What is Deep Linking? A Complete Guide for Mobile Apps (2026)

Everything you need to know about deep links: what they are, how they work, the different types, and how to implement them correctly in your mobile app.

What is a Deep Link?

A deep link is a URL that takes a user directly to a specific screen or piece of content inside a mobile app, rather than just opening the app’s home screen or a generic web page.

Think of it like the difference between giving someone the address of a building (shallow link) versus giving them the building address, floor number, and room number (deep link).

Example:

A regular link to an e-commerce app’s website:

https://shop.example.com → Opens the homepage

A deep link to a specific product:

https://shop.example.com/product/blue-sneakers-42 → Opens the exact product page inside the native app

Without deep linking, users who click a shared product link end up on a web page or the app’s home screen, and have to manually search for the product. Most users won’t bother. They’ll leave.

Why Deep Links Matter

Deep linking isn’t a nice-to-have; it’s the infrastructure that makes modern mobile growth possible. Here’s what breaks without it:

Referral programs fail

When a user shares a referral link and their friend clicks it, deep linking ensures the friend lands on the right screen with the referral code pre-applied. Without it, the referral context is lost.

Social sharing becomes pointless

Product shares on WhatsApp, Instagram, or Telegram only convert if they take users to the actual content. A link that dumps users on the homepage has near-zero conversion.

Marketing campaigns underperform

Email campaigns, push notifications, and paid ads all depend on deep links to route users to the right screen. Broken or missing deep links waste your ad spend.

App installs don’t convert

If a new user clicks a link, installs the app, and then opens to a blank home screen instead of the content they wanted — you’ve lost them. This is where deferred deep linking becomes critical (more on that below).

How Do Deep Links Work?

Deep links work by mapping a URL to a specific screen or content inside your app. Here’s the simplified flow:

User clicks a URL

→ Operating system checks if an app is registered to handle that URL

→ If app is installed: opens the app directly to the right screen

→ If app is NOT installed: redirects to App Store/Play Store or a web fallback

Under the hood, deep linking uses one or more of these mechanisms:

1. URI Schemes (Legacy method)

A custom URL scheme registered by your app (e.g., myapp://product/123). This was the original way to deep link, but it has major limitations — any app can claim any scheme, and there’s no fallback if the app isn’t installed.

2. Universal Links (iOS)

Apple’s Universal Links associate your website domain with your app. When a user taps a URL that matches your domain, iOS opens the app directly — no Safari redirect, no prompt. This requires hosting an apple-app-site-association (AASA) file on your domain.

3. App Links (Android)

Google’s equivalent of Universal Links. Android App Links verify your app’s ownership of a domain through a assetlinks.json file hosted on your website. Verified App Links open the app directly without a disambiguation dialog.

4. Deep Linking Platforms

Services like ChottuLink, Branch, or AppsFlyer handle the complexity of all three methods above — automatically selecting the right mechanism based on the user’s device, OS, and whether the app is installed. They also provide analytics, link management, and deferred deep linking.

Types of Deep Links

There are three main types of deep links, each designed for different scenarios:

1. Standard Deep Links

The basic form. A URL routes to a specific screen inside an already-installed app.

How it works:

User clicks link → App is installed → App opens to the correct screen

Limitation: If the app is NOT installed, the link fails or shows an error. There’s no graceful fallback.

Best for: In-app notifications, CRM messages to existing users, internal navigation.

2. Deferred Deep Links

A deferred deep link preserves the user’s intended destination across an app install. Even if the app isn’t installed when the user clicks the link, after they install and open it, they land on the exact screen they originally wanted.

How it works:

User clicks link → App is NOT installed → Redirected to App Store/Play Store → Installs app → Opens app → Lands on the original content

Why this matters: Without deferred deep linking, every new user who installs your app from a shared link lands on the home screen — losing all context about why they installed.

Best for: Referral programs, social sharing, marketing campaigns targeting new users, influencer links.

→ Read more: Deep Link vs Deferred Deep Link — What’s the Difference?

3. Contextual Deep Links

A contextual deep link carries additional metadata beyond just the destination screen — things like referral codes, campaign IDs, discount codes, or user attribution data.

How it works:

User clicks link with embedded parameters → App opens → App reads the parameters and takes action (applies discount, credits referral, tracks campaign)

Best for: Attribution, A/B testing, personalized onboarding, affiliate tracking.

Deep Linking and App SEO

One of the most overlooked benefits of deep linking is its impact on app discoverability (sometimes called App SEO or ASO).

Google indexes deep links. When your app properly implements Universal Links and App Links, Google can index your in-app content and show it directly in search results. Users who search on mobile may see your app content appear with an “Open in App” option — driving installs and engagement without paid ads.

Key requirements for deep link SEO:

• Your deep link URLs must resolve to real web pages (not just app-only screens)
• Your apple-app-site-association and assetlinks.json files must be correctly configured
• Your web pages should have proper meta tags (title, description, Open Graph)
• Social previews should render correctly when links are shared

→ You can validate all of this for free with the ChottuLink Deep Link Tester — no signup required.

Common Deep Linking Mistakes

1. Not handling the “app not installed” case

If you only implement standard deep links, users without your app will hit a broken link or a confusing error page. Always implement a fallback — either to the web version of the content, or to the app store.

2. Using only URI schemes

URI schemes (myapp://) have no verification mechanism. Any app can register the same scheme, leading to conflicts. They also don’t work as web URLs, so they break when pasted in browsers. Use Universal Links (iOS) and App Links (Android) instead.

3. Not testing across platforms

A deep link that works on Android may break on iOS, or vice versa. It may work in Chrome but fail in Instagram’s in-app browser. Test across:

• iOS Safari, Chrome, in-app browsers (Instagram, WhatsApp, Telegram)
• Android Chrome, Samsung Internet, in-app browsers
• Desktop browsers (should fallback to web)

→ Use the ChottuLink Deep Link Tester to validate your setup across all these scenarios.

4. Ignoring social preview metadata

When a deep link is shared on WhatsApp, Telegram, LinkedIn, or Twitter, the social preview (title, description, image) is what determines whether someone clicks. Without proper Open Graph tags, your link shows a blank or generic preview — killing click-through rates.

→ Check how your links render on social platforms with the ChottuLink Social Preview Tool.

5. Not preserving context through installs

If your app relies on social sharing for growth, you need deferred deep linking. Without it, every new user who installs from a shared link starts from scratch — no context, no referral credit, no product page.

How to Implement Deep Linking

Option 1: Build it yourself

You can implement deep linking natively using platform APIs:

iOS (Universal Links):

1. Create an apple-app-site-association (AASA) file
2. Host it on your domain at /.well-known/apple-app-site-association
3. Configure your Xcode project to handle Universal Links
4. Parse incoming URLs in your AppDelegate or SceneDelegate

Android (App Links):

1. Create an assetlinks.json file
2. Host it on your domain at /.well-known/assetlinks.json
3. Add intent filters to your AndroidManifest.xml
4. Handle incoming intents in your Activity

Challenges with DIY:

• You need to maintain both iOS and Android configurations separately
• Deferred deep linking requires server-side fingerprinting or clipboard-based workarounds
• Analytics, link management, and QR codes need to be built from scratch
• Edge cases (in-app browsers, older OS versions, app clips) add complexity

Option 2: Use a deep linking platform

Platforms like ChottuLink handle all the complexity above:

• Automatic Universal Links + App Links setup
• Deferred deep linking out of the box
• SDKs for Android, iOS, Flutter, React Native, Unity, and Capacitor
• Link analytics and real-time reporting
• QR code generation
• Social preview customization
• Custom branded domains

ChottuLink’s free tier supports up to 25,000 Monthly Active Users with unlimited links — making it the most generous free tier among deep linking platforms.

→ Get started free at ChottuLink →

How to Test Your Deep Links

Before going live, validate your deep link setup by checking:

Domain health — DNS, SSL, and redirect chain

AASA file (iOS) — hosted correctly and contains valid JSON

assetlinks.json (Android) — hosted correctly with proper package name and SHA-256 fingerprint

Social previews — Open Graph and Twitter Card tags render correctly

Fallback behavior — what happens when the app isn’t installed

Cross-platform behavior — test in Safari, Chrome, in-app browsers, and desktop

→ Test your deep links for free: ChottuLink Deep Link Tester — no signup, no login. Just paste your URL and get a full report.

Deep Linking Glossary

Deep Link — A URL that routes to a specific screen inside a mobile app.

Deferred Deep Link — A deep link that preserves the intended destination through an app install.

Universal Links — Apple’s system for linking web URLs to iOS app content (requires AASA file).

App Links — Google’s system for linking web URLs to Android app content (requires assetlinks.json).

URI Scheme — A custom URL protocol (e.g., myapp://screen) used by apps to handle incoming links. Legacy method, less secure than Universal Links/App Links.

AASA (Apple App Site Association) — A JSON file hosted on your domain that tells iOS which URLs should open in your app.

assetlinks.json — A JSON file hosted on your domain that tells Android which URLs should open in your app.

Deferred Deep Link Fingerprinting — The technique used to match a user’s pre-install click with their post-install app open.

Fallback URL — The web page shown when a deep link can’t open the target app.

Social Preview / OG Tags — Open Graph metadata that controls how a URL appears when shared on social platforms.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a deep link and a regular link?

A regular link opens a website in a browser. A deep link opens a specific screen inside a native mobile app. If the app isn’t installed, a well-implemented deep link will either show a web fallback or redirect to the app store.

Do deep links work on both iOS and Android?

Yes. On iOS, deep linking uses Universal Links (or URI schemes as a fallback). On Android, it uses App Links (or intent filters). A deep linking platform like ChottuLink handles both automatically.

What is the difference between deep link and deferred deep link?

A standard deep link only works if the app is already installed. A deferred deep link also works for new users — it remembers what the user clicked, waits for them to install the app, and then routes them to the correct screen after install.

Are deep links good for SEO?

Yes. Properly configured Universal Links and App Links allow Google to index your in-app content. This can improve your app’s visibility in mobile search results and drive organic installs.

How do I test if my deep links are working?

Use a deep link testing tool like the ChottuLink Deep Link Tester. It checks your domain health, AASA/assetlinks.json configuration, social previews, and fallback behavior — all without requiring signup.

What happens if the app is not installed when someone clicks a deep link?

It depends on how the deep link is configured. With deferred deep linking, the user is sent to the App Store/Play Store, installs the app, and then routed to the correct screen on first open. Without deferred deep linking, the user typically sees a web fallback or error page.

Can I use deep links for referral programs?

Absolutely — this is one of the most common use cases. Contextual deep links can carry referral codes, user IDs, and attribution data through the install flow, ensuring proper credit is given to the referrer.

Deep linking is the backbone of modern mobile growth. If your links aren’t taking users exactly where they need to go — inside your app, on the right screen, with the right context — you’re leaving conversions on the table.

→ Start deep linking for free with ChottuLink →