Deferred deep linking is a crucial technology for mobile app developers, allowing users to be directed to specific content within an app even if they have to install the app first. But in 2025, it's become a surprisingly complex problem. Let's break down why.
The biggest hurdle for deferred deep linking is user privacy. Both Apple (with iOS) and Google (with Android) have implemented strict privacy policies that make it impossible to directly pass data from the app store to the newly installed app. Think about it: you click a link, get sent to the App Store, install the app, and then... how does the app know which link you clicked? The app stores don't tell it.
This is intentional. Allowing direct data transfer would open the door to widespread user tracking and fingerprinting, something both companies are actively trying to prevent.
Since we can't get data directly from the app stores, the industry has largely relied on a technique called cloud fingerprinting. Here's the basic idea:
Click: When a user clicks a deep link, the link first goes to a server (the "cloud"). This server collects as much information as possible about the user's device without violating privacy rules. This might include:
App Store: The user is then redirected to the appropriate app store.
Install & Open: The user installs and opens the app.
App-Side Fingerprint: The app, upon opening, also collects the same set of information about the device.
Matching: The app sends this fingerprint to the same cloud server. The server compares this new fingerprint to the fingerprints it collected from recent link clicks. If it finds a close match within a short time window, it assumes it's the same user.
Deferred Linking: The server then tells the app which link the user originally clicked, and the app can navigate the user to the correct content.
This works reasonably well, but it's far from perfect. Here's why:
The biggest players in deferred deep linking - Branch, AppsFlyer, and others - aren't just deep linking solutions. They're full-scale marketing and analytics platforms that use deep linking as a gateway to lock you into their ecosystem. This creates several significant problems:
Most apps already have dedicated analytics solutions (Google Analytics, Mixpanel, Amplitude, etc.). Yet these deep linking platforms bundle their own analytics, attribution, and marketing tools - forcing you to pay for redundant functionality. It's like buying a whole Swiss Army knife when you only need the bottle opener.
Once you integrate these platforms, they position themselves as the "source of truth" for your user journeys. This makes it increasingly difficult to switch providers or use multiple solutions, as your user data becomes siloed within their ecosystem.
Let's break down the actual costs across different providers (as of 2025):
| Monthly Active Users | Branch.io | AppsFlyer | Airbridge | DeepLinkNow | | -------------------- | ------------- | ----------- | ------------------- | ------------ | | Free Tier | Up to 10k MAU | Zero Plan* | - | Up to 5k MAU | | 50,000 MAU | $299/mo | $1,050/mo† | $199/mo ($2,300/yr) | $49/mo | | 100,000 MAU | $499/mo | $2,100/mo† | $299/mo ($3,500/yr) | $99/mo | | 1,000,000+ MAU | Custom | $21,000/mo† | Custom | $499/mo |
*AppsFlyer's Zero Plan includes basic deep linking features only †Calculated at 7¢ per conversion with 30% conversion rate (industry average)
But here's the catch: these prices often don't tell the whole story. Many providers have significant hidden costs:
Annual Contracts Required
Feature Paywalls
Technical Support Costs
Data Storage and Processing
Integration Complexity
This is where DeepLinkNow comes in. We believe that deferred deep linking shouldn't require massive SDKs, invasive tracking, or exorbitant costs. We've built a lightweight solution that focuses on:
We're committed to providing a deferred deep linking solution that balances effectiveness with user privacy and developer convenience. In a world of increasingly complex and invasive tracking, we believe a simpler, more ethical approach is needed.