Glossary
What are Android App Links?
Android App Links are a deep linking mechanism that allows verified HTTPS URLs to open directly in the associated app instead of the browser.
How verification works
Android App Links are the Android counterpart to universal links, and the verification model is similar: you host a JSON file at a fixed path on your domain declaring which app may handle which URLs, and the system checks it.
The important consequence is that verified links open the app without a disambiguation dialogue. Unverified handling — the older intent filter approach — could prompt the user to choose between apps, which both leaked users and allowed hijacking.
Where it differs from iOS
- Verification is explicit and inspectable. Android exposes verification state, so a misconfiguration is diagnosable rather than silently failing.
- User control is more granular. Users can set link handling per app in system settings.
- The [install referrer](/resources/glossary/install-referrer) carries campaign data across an install, which has no direct iOS equivalent.
- Fragmentation. Behaviour varies across Android versions and manufacturer skins more than on iOS.
The common failure
Verification failing quietly. The association file is unreachable, served with the wrong content type, behind a redirect, or lists the wrong signing certificate fingerprint — and the links simply open in the browser with no error anywhere.
Because Android exposes verification state through the platform tooling, this is checkable rather than guessable, which is worth doing as part of release verification rather than discovering from a drop in app sessions.
Common questions
Why do my App Links open in Chrome?
Almost always failed verification — check the association file is reachable, correctly served, and lists the right certificate fingerprint. The platform tooling reports verification state directly.
Do App Links work across all Android versions?
Verified App Links require reasonably modern Android. Older devices fall back to intent filters, which can show a disambiguation dialogue.
More in engineering and integration
The interfaces and plumbing an ad stack is wired together with.