[Huawei Developers] Mayism:
Q: What is HUAWEI App Linking? What does it do?

Description: App Linking creates a link to be shared. When a user taps the shared link, a specific app is launched, and then they are linked to specific in-app content.

Advantage: Links of App Linking can be used on multiple platforms, including Android and iOS devices, and PC browsers.

Function: Once you integrate App Linking into your app, you can send a link to your users for them to share with their friends, or use one for promotion.

Q: What are the differences between HUAWEI App Linking and other competitive products?

A deep link is a basic capability of Android. It identifies apps based on a URL scheme. That is, when a user taps a link or program to access a web URL, the Android system identifies and displays all apps that support the URL scheme. After the user selects one from the list, that app can be launched.

App Links (Android):

Android supports App Links since 6.0. App Links are a special type of deep links. With the function, a user can directly open an app through a web address without needing to choose one from a pop-up.

Universal Links (iOS):

Universal Links are App Links of the iOS version, and have been available since iOS 9. They allow apps to be launched through HTTP links.

Though they both have been developed for years, they have two disadvantages:

1. Poor cross-platform compatibility: It takes a lot of workload to adapt them to different platforms.

2. Poor user experience when a requested app is not installed: When a user taps a link to launch an app they haven’t installed on their device, they need to install it first by themselves before accessing the in-app content.

HUAWEI App Linking can solve the problems. It not only has all the advantages of the solutions above, but also does better. App Linking supports both Android and iOS devices. It allows you to set link behavior as well. You can link a user to HUAWEI AppGallery for app install, and they can still be linked to the target content after installing the app and launching it for the first time.

Q: Does App Linking support non-Huawei devices?

Currently, the App Linking SDK 1.4.1.300 no longer depends on HMS Core (APK), and can be used on all Android devices.

The iOS SDK has also been released. For details, please visit:

https://developer.huawei.com/consum...c-applinking-sdkdownload-ios-0000001058715537

Q: If a user has not installed HUAWEI AppGallery on their device, can they be redirected to the local app store?

You can set the link behavior to Open a local app store, as shown in the following figure.

For non-Huawei Android devices:

App Linking uses the MARKET protocol to launch all app stores installed on the device for the user to choose from. After the user selects an app store, App Linking sends your app package name to it. Then the app store will search for and display your app.

For iOS devices:

The user will be linked to your app details page on App Store.

Q: Are there any restrictions on data statistics of App Linking?

l For a link of App Linking created in AppGallery Connect, you can directly view the numbers of clicks, first-opens, and re-opens. (This function is not supported if the link is created on the device side using the App Linking SDK.)

l App Linking can work with HUAWEI Analytics to collect relevant events. All tracing parameters you configure can be viewed in HUAWEI Analytics.

For more details, please check:

https://developer.huawei.com/consum...ry-connect-Guides/agc-applinking-introduction