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I am trying to use Facebook's new App Links metadata to cause the Facebook app to launch my native app on iOS. So far, it isn't working.

This is what I've done:

1 . I created a file called test.html with the following code:

<html>
<head>
<meta property="al:ios:url"          content="MyAlScheme://test" />
<meta property="al:ios:app_store_id" content="123456" />
<meta property="al:ios:app_name"     content="My App Name" />
<meta name="viewport" content="initial-scale=1.0, maximum-scale=1.0, minimum-scale=1.0, user-scalable=no">
</head>
<body>
<h1>Test</h1>
<a href="MyAlScheme://test">Launch App</a>
</body>
</html>

(* 123456 and My App Name were replaced with the real app name and ID)

2 . In my XCode project, I registered the Scheme MyAlScheme in the app's plist. (Note: Proof that this scheme works is below).

3 . I sent a link to the aforementioned test.html to another user via Facebook Chat.

4 . I clicked on that link and the web page opened, though I am expecting the app to launch instead.

5 . With the web page opened, I clicked on the "Launch App" link. The app opens up (as expected), proving the the custom scheme is properly registered.

What am I missing?

Oz Solomon
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  • Do you mind posting a screenshot of what you do see? We are testing many different variations of UIs, so it's possible that you're in one of the experiment groups and are seeing expected behavior. You can also test your url in the url debugger to see if we're parsing your meta properties correctly: https://developers.facebook.com/tools/debug/ – Ming Li Aug 25 '14 at 21:57
  • @MingLi there is no UI to see. Nothing happens. I uploaded a screenshot here: http://i.stack.imgur.com/S7aRO.png. What you see there is that the test page opens up in the FB app (in this case the FB messenger app). It's being displayed as is and there is no indication that there are App Links. – Oz Solomon Aug 26 '14 at 16:58

2 Answers2

3

Answering my own question:

It appears that this is a limitation, specifically, of the iOS Facebook Messenger app. It doesn't support App Links yet.

The same link, if accessed through the main iOS Facebook app (for example, if you post the link on the wall then click on it from the feed), works correctly: The Facebook app creates a special button on the status bar which allows you to open the link in the native app.

Oz Solomon
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Currently, the way this works is that the webview is loaded immediately, but when an AppLink is detected, a native button is shown that allows the user to jump directly into the app. Things are being tweaked a little bit so you may see a slightly different user experience, but the general pattern should be immediate webview + native UI to jump straight into the app.

Dhiren Patel
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  • The problem is, as indicated, there there is no indication in the FB app that App Links were detected. There is no overlay, no button, nothing. Please see the screenshot mentioned above an response to Ming Li's comment. – Oz Solomon Aug 26 '14 at 16:59
  • Just a sanity check - Did the debugger at https://developers.facebook.com/tools/debug/ show any warnings or errors? Are you using a recent version of Messenger? – Dhiren Patel Aug 26 '14 at 18:41
  • Both Messenger and the main Facebook app are the latest. The debugging tool complains that there are no OG tags (since there aren't), but lists the 'al' metas just fine under "raw tags". – Oz Solomon Aug 26 '14 at 23:17
  • Do you see an "App Links - iOS" section in the debugger? If not, it means we were not able to scrape the object, for whatever reason. Are there any redirects happening in this process? Is the server side checking for a specific user agent? Mind posting the Graph API URL for the object (debugger should show this)? For example, here's an object on Pinterest: https://graph.facebook.com/706917906025316 – Dhiren Patel Aug 27 '14 at 04:00
  • The Messenger app doesn't fully support App Links on all surface areas yet. You currently need to share it via the Message dialog https://developers.facebook.com/docs/ios/share#message-dialog – Ming Li Aug 27 '14 at 23:35
  • @MingLi, I can confirm this is a Messenger issue. If I take the same link and post it on the wall so the FB app can open it, it will properly recognize the App Link. If I just share the link via a message (this is what I was doing), the Messenger app will ignore the App Link. – Oz Solomon Aug 28 '14 at 12:33
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    I am struggling with this big time still. I have the meta AL's in my page along with OG title and type. The debug scraper see's these however when i tap the item in my newsfeed its like those metas are completely ignored. Nothing happens. I'm not trying from message, just from the Facebook iOS app. Anyone experiencing this too? – mreynol Mar 07 '15 at 17:19