Deep link after installing the iOS application (deferred deep binding)

Question

How can you solve this scenario:

The user uses Safari for iOS. They click a link on a website that says: "View profile on our application." The user does not have the application, they have to download the application. After they open the application, the application immediately loads the profile screen (instead of the main screen).

Currently, to solve this problem, when the application is installed, we immediately open Safari to capture the session cookie if it matches the server we are loading on the right screen. However, Apple now rejects our application (and others) to load Safari at startup.

Which valid decision will not be rejected by Apple?

(Also note that we studied IDFA - it would work - but Apple rejects applications using IDFA if the application does not use ads)

Answer 1

This is possible without IDFA.

Basically, create a URL endpoint on your server that will be 302 in the App Store in GET. When a user clicks on this link, collect the IP address, OS, OS version, device model, screen size and other parameters and save it as a browser fingerprint.

Then, after the user installs your application, send the same metadata array to your server as a device fingerprint. Your server can then map this device fingerprint to the browser fingerprint. If there is a match, you can be very sure that the user came from your link.

Just to give you an idea of ​​the numbers, we (at Branch ) give this service for free and now process hundreds of millions of these hits per day. We saw that if the user installs, 99% of them will do so within the first 60 minutes. We simply estimate that this mechanism with a short window of 2 hours is very close to 100%.

For added value, if you collect IDFAs, you can reset the cookie in the browser upon forwarding and then save the matched pair in the IDFA to create a semi-permanent alternative to the fingerprint mechanism that I mentioned above. If someone clicks on your link again and you have a cookie stored in the browser, you will know who they are when they send IDFA back to your service during installation, because you already saw this story.

Answer 2

The best solution requires an IDFA, which you are actually allowed to build for the purpose of deferred deep binding. The "Apple IDFA Scare" was a bit bloated in the media, and Apple revised its T & Cs to make it more understandable. Apple also allows you to collect IDFAs, if you are an advertiser, for installation attributes or for attributing post-installation actions. In other words, you do not have ads in your application to collect IDFAs.

Here is a link to Apple's current policy ( https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=08282014a ), and this article by AdExchanger is provided in a bit more detail ( http://www.adexchanger.com/mobile/apple-throws- a-bone-to-app-marketers-blesses-idfa-for-attribution / )