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So Firebase has these Dynamic links, which if you click in your Android / iPhone you get redirected to your app instead of the website. So when you want to invite your friends to join you in the app (game, group chat or whatever) you just share this link with them.

I was wondering if this was achievable with UWP. I watched a video about project Rome where they talk about AppUriHandlers which seem to do the job. HOWEVER they require you to have a json file at your web server root which would identify your app, saying "yea, this app is allowed and me are associated, open this app when someone launches this link".

The problem with that is that the Firebase dynamic link points to a google endpoint, e.g. https://aaxy2.app.goo.gl/?link=redirect_here and naturely there is going to be no json file just sitting there.

Is there some other way how to have users redirected to my app just via a link (it needs to be an http link because that's what the Android and iOS versions of the app will be using).

Tomáš Bezouška
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1 Answers1

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It's not going to be possible; for this exact reason. To ensure that web links aren't hijacked by third parties (for potentially malicious reasons), only the owner of a domain (or more accurately: the person/people with access to the storage where the domains points) can "approve" an app.

Update: After actually doing my job and properly reading your question, I can give you a correct answer; sorry :/

Linking to UWP apps will work similarly to how it's described for iOS apps in the first section here:

You can do the iOS 8 way and support a uri scheme as described in the Windows docs here.

With the Anniversary Update you can also support AppUriHandlers by directing your users to a web link that will launch your app instead (as described in the Dynamic Links docs for iOS 9).

It looks like, however, that you need to register an iOS or Android app to get going, so that might give you some trouble.

Jon G Stødle
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  • Hijacked by third parties... How does iOS / Android do it? With Android I kinda understand, the system is a lot more open plus it's under google control.. But iOS? Really? – Tomáš Bezouška Jun 20 '16 at 18:15
  • @TomášBezouška I updated the answer for a proper response – Jon G Stødle Jun 20 '16 at 19:23
  • I don't understand... I am familiar with custom URI schemes and how I can handle the activation in my app, but how does that come into play when I click the firebase link (http://...)? On iOS 8 it must still open the link in a browser and then... somehow detect that it is iOS and invoke the custom URI scheme? In that case I will be out of luck, because it will detect it's windows device and redirect to the regular URL.. no? – Tomáš Bezouška Jun 21 '16 at 19:06
  • The "magic" of the Dynamic Links is that they detect platform and change accordingly. Detecting a Windows device, it will redirect to the regular URL, yes. – Jon G Stødle Jun 22 '16 at 05:26