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The docs here https://developers.google.com/+/mobile/android/share/deep-link seem to be hopelessly out of date, as I cannot find any of the mentioned (like "Edit settings").

Can somebody provide some guidance on how to make a deep link to my app work from within a Google+ post?

e.g., I would expect a link such as "appname://?id=12345678" to be a clickable thing that directs the user either to install the app or opens the installed app and takes the user directly to the content specified by the id. Instead, this link is posted as plain text...

Moreover, will I need to fight with every social network to get deep links to work properly? Does anybody have any experience making this sort of thing work on Twitter, Facebook, etc?

We are developing with Meteor, and using the Cordova cordova-plugin-x-socialsharingplugin https://github.com/EddyVerbruggen/SocialSharing-PhoneGap-Plugin

Marc
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    You're right, deep linking is a really gigantic pain. The simplest approach is probably to use a free service like [Branch.io](https://branch.io) (full disclosure: I work with the team), because that can do what you're describing and also takes care of a ton of edge cases (I believe 6000+ plus, at the moment) – Alex Bauer Mar 08 '16 at 15:31
  • Branch.io looks interesting... but I admit, I don't quite understand what it brings us. What we are looking for is some API that would allow us to create deep links that behave as described above on various social networks. Does Branch.io provide this? If so, I'm having some difficulty understanding the service it provides... See edits to the original question. – Marc Mar 09 '16 at 18:20
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    You nailed it: a good description for Branch is 'an API for creating deep links'. In an ideal world, `appname://?id=12345678` would do exactly what you describe, but unfortunately neither iOS nor Android currently support this and every social network has some custom alternative. At an abstract level, Branch supplies the missing pieces by wrapping `appname://?id=12345678` inside a standard `http://` link (so that apps like Google+ know it is openable) and then performing conditional routing into your app or to the App Store based on install state. – Alex Bauer Mar 09 '16 at 18:42
  • Struggling to integrate branch.io... but no luck so far. See http://stackoverflow.com/questions/35914927/using-branch-io-with-meteor – Marc Mar 10 '16 at 11:19

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You may want to try using App Invites, which either will let the app receive data from the invitation if the app is already installed (e.g. a coupon) or will install the app.

class
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  • This seems to be an Android proprietary concept. We are developing with Meteor and Cordova, so I don't think this solution is applicable. Thanks for the suggestion. – Marc Mar 15 '16 at 16:21
  • App Invites also will work on iOS, it does assume that you are using Google analytics if you need to get to those. – class Apr 19 '16 at 00:59