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When I set up a branch.io link I see that after the redirect it is something like http://www.bbc.co.uk/?_branch_match_id=241114587404660876

What is the _branch_match_id parameter?

Is this added onto every link redirect or can it be omitted?

neilmca
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1 Answers1

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Alex from Branch.io here: the _branch_match_id is a unique ID we append to every link redirection as part of our matching algorithm. It allows us to track where traffic is coming from, so that we can identify each user again within the app after it opens/is installed. There is no way to remove it :)

Alex Bauer
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    can we use this `_branch_match_id` to get data of request body which was sent while generating link url. This link https://github.com/BranchMetrics/branch-deep-linking-public-api#viewing-state-of-existing-deep-linking-urls tells we need to pass url as query param to get data, is there any api where we can get data by passing `_branch_match_id`. – Chetan Gawai Jul 12 '17 at 13:05
  • Not currently...though I agree this would be quite useful! Are you doing this on a web page? If so, the Branch web SDK can return you link data for whichever link was clicked right before. That might accomplish the same thing? See here: https://github.com/BranchMetrics/web-branch-deep-linking/blob/master/README.md#initbranch_key-options-callback – Alex Bauer Jul 12 '17 at 13:28
  • If you have access to the referer on your backend server, you can probably pull the original URL from there, and then hit `GET /v1/url?url=${referer}` to look up the deep link object. – Paul Sweeney Jul 13 '17 at 20:07
  • @AlexBauer If we click the url on a IP address and mean while installtion internet is changed, the app installs and opens on a different IP address internet then We cannot get referral params. Any idea how to solve it – Vishnu Prasad Nov 27 '18 at 11:48
  • @VishnuPrasad that can happen occasionally due to identity conflicts, if our system has to fall back on fingerprint matching. There may be some tweaks to your specific configuration to help — write into integrations@branch.io so the team can take a look – Alex Bauer Nov 27 '18 at 18:29
  • @AlexBauer in iOS when I click on a branch link if the app is not installed it doesn't redirect to the app store. But if the app is installed it opens the app. I checked AASA file validations and its fine too. What could be the issue here? – Dilan Fdo May 18 '21 at 13:43