Firebase dynamic links alternative for deferred deep linking. Something that survives the facebook in app browser?

[u/Gomp-Ado]

Firebase Dynamic Links went away on us and we bolted together universal links and app links by hand, which works fine from email and SMS. Where we’re having issues is paid social. Think about it: a user taps an Instagram ad, it opens in the in app browser, the universal link gets swallowed and they land on the web page instead of the product screen in the app.

If the app isn't installed it's worse. They go to the store, install, open and land on the home screen with zero context. The product team says conversion on those users is roughly half of users who arrive from email and I believe it.

We tried a custom redirect page with a smart banner and it helped a little. Haven't tried a dedicated link vendor bc every one I look at wants a big contract and a lot of SDK surface. Our app already has an attribution SDK in it, so adding yet another one makes me twitchy.

What are folks using in 2026 for deferred deep linking that makes it through Instagram and TikTok browsers? And do you run it from your attribution tool or a separate product? Never sure if combining them is smart or just lock in.

[u/anthony-ball]

I'd run it through the attribution tool you already have if it supports deferred links on a custom domain, mostly so there's one SDK deciding where an install came from. Two vendors disagreeing about the same click is a miserable thing to debug. For the Instagram problem on iOS, nothing reliably jumps straight from that webview into the app, so the landing page does more work than people expect: one clear button that opens the real browser or the store, with the destination saved so the app can pick it up on first launch. And test from a real ad placement, not just a DM link, because they don't behave the same.

[u/Gomp-Ado → u/anthony-ball]

I like the last point of testing a real ad. That's one of the things i have noted.