Skip to content
Detour
Dashboard

Testing Deferred Links

An install from the App Store or Google Play needs a real device. A deferred test that skips the store also runs on a simulator or an emulator.

Before you test, confirm that at least one platform, iOS or Android, is configured in the dashboard, and that Redirect URL for web fallback is set.

Section titled “Test a deferred link before the app is published”

Use this while you are integrating the SDK, before any build that contains it reaches a store. Only the install step differs, so a simulator or an emulator works here.

  1. Uninstall the app from the test device, simulator or emulator.
  2. Open a Detour link in a mobile browser there. Detour records the click first, then redirects.
  3. Expect the redirect to end on the web fallback, or on a store listing that does not exist yet. The click is recorded either way.
  4. Install a development build there and open it.
  5. Check the link that the SDK returns.

The match is probabilistic here. A build you install yourself carries no Play install referrer, so Android has no click_id for the deterministic lookup. See Play Store referrer missing.

Section titled “Test a deferred link after the app is published”
  1. Uninstall the app from the test device.
  2. Open a Detour link in a mobile browser on the device. Detour records the click and redirects to the App Store or Google Play.
  3. Install a build of your app and open it.
  4. Check the link that the SDK returns. On first open, the SDK requests a match, and a matched click returns the original link.

Why a click works only once

Section titled “Why a click works only once”

Detour does not keep a list of devices. Two separate mechanisms make each test one-shot:

  • The click is used up — Detour matches only clicks that are still unmatched, so a matched click cannot match again. Only clicks inside the match window count, and that window is 15 minutes by default.
  • The SDK asks once — On the first launch, the SDK saves a flag to storage and skips the deferred lookup on every later launch. This is why step 1 uninstalls the app.

See Matching.

Section titled “Test a link with the app installed”

Universal Links and App Links open an installed app directly, so they use a different test:

  1. Install a build that contains the Associated Domains or App Link intent-filter configuration.
  2. Tap the Detour link from another app, such as Messages or Notes.
  3. Check that the operating system opens your app directly and the SDK returns the link.

Typing the URL into a browser address bar is not a reliable test.

Custom scheme links need their own test after you register the scheme. See Custom scheme links.

Platform-specific tests

Section titled “Platform-specific tests”

See the Usage and Testing & Troubleshooting pages for specific test instructions.

Section titled “Related pages”
Getting Started with Detour Set up your first app from account to first link.
Matching How clicks are matched to app installs.
Universal Links & App Links Runtime deep links on iOS and Android.