Deep links and deferred deep links on Android after Firebase Dynamic Links

Short answer: Firebase Dynamic Links shut down on 25 August 2025, and its links no longer work. To replace it on Android you need two things: a link that opens your app at the right screen when it is installed (a deep link), and a way to send new users to that same screen after they install (a deferred deep link). Android App Links handle the first on their own. The second needs a service that carries the link through the Play Store install.

What happened to Firebase Dynamic Links?

Google announced the deprecation in 2023 and, as its Dynamic Links FAQ says, shut the service down on 25 August 2025. Links on page.link and on custom domains stopped working and now return a 404, and the APIs were switched off. Any QR code, email or message still carrying an old link leads nowhere.

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

• A deep link opens your app at a specific screen, such as a product page, when the app is already installed.
• A deferred deep link does the same for someone who does not have the app yet: they tap the link, install from the Play Store, open the app, and land on that product page instead of your home screen.

The deferred part is what Dynamic Links did that Android does not do by itself.

What does Android give you for free?

Android App Links. You add an intent filter with android:autoVerify="true" to your app and publish a Digital Asset Links file at https://your-domain/.well-known/assetlinks.json. Android then opens matching https links straight in your app, without asking. Since Android 12, web links that are not verified open in the browser by default, so verification matters. Google's guide: Handling Android App Links.

Custom schemes such as myapp://product/123 also open an installed app, but do nothing when it is not installed, and many apps will not show them as tappable links. Use them inside your own app, not in campaigns.

What App Links cannot do is remember where a new user was going while they install. For that, the link has to travel through the Play Store.

How does a deferred deep link work on Android?

The reliable way uses the Play Install Referrer:

1. The person taps your link. The link service records the click and sends them to your Play Store page with a click ID in the referrer parameter.
2. They install and open the app.
3. Your app reads the click ID from the Play Install Referrer. Our Install Referrer guide shows how.
4. The app exchanges the click ID for the link's destination, and opens that screen.

Keep the destination itself out of the referrer: the referrer is short, and anyone with the link can read it. Send an opaque ID and look the destination up after install.

How do I replace Dynamic Links with Measura?

Measura links do the deep link, the deferred deep link and the measurement in one, on every plan, Free included.

1. Add the SDK. One Gradle line, and Measura.init in Application.onCreate. See the docs.
2. Create a link in the dashboard with your in-app path, for example /product/123, and a web fallback for people on other devices.
3. Handle new installs. Register the deferred listener. It is called at most once per install, on the main thread, and only for installs that came from a link with a destination:

Measura.setDeferredDeepLinkListener { link ->
    link.path?.let { router.navigate(it) }   // e.g. "/product/123"
}

4. Handle people who already have the app. In the Activity that receives the link:

intent?.data?.let { uri ->
    Measura.handleDeepLink(uri)?.let { path -> navigateTo(path) }
}

5. Swap the old links in your messages, QR codes and ads.

A Measura link carries only an opaque click ID through the Play Store. After install, the SDK exchanges it for the destination using your app's API key. Every click and install is measured along the way, with the reason each install was credited. The step-by-step version is at Replacing Firebase Dynamic Links.

Questions people ask

Do old page.link links redirect anywhere now?

No. Google's FAQ says they return a 404 after the shutdown, and page.link domains cannot be kept or transferred. Replace them wherever they are printed or posted.

Do deferred deep links work for installs outside the Play Store?

Not with the referrer method. Other stores and side-loaded APKs do not pass the Play referrer, so those users open the app at your default screen.

Do I still need App Links if I use a link service?

For people who already have the app, yes. Verified App Links are what let Android open your app directly from a link, without a stop in the browser.