Free Tool

4.9/5

Free Deep Link Generator

Build links that open straight in the native app, WhatsApp, Instagram, Spotify, YouTube, Telegram, X, or your own custom scheme, each with a web fallback.

Platform

Phone number (with country code) *

Digits only, include the country code, drop the + and any spaces.

Pre-filled message (optional)

A raw scheme dead-ends. A Flyn deep link never does.

Push link-in-bio taps into the native app via app intents and universal links (so people can actually subscribe), with automatic web fallback and click analytics. A free account saves your links and counts every click; smart deep links and analytics breakdowns are Pro features.

Smart fallback Opens the app Click analytics

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How to Make a Deep Link in 3 Steps

Pick a platform

Choose WhatsApp, Instagram, Spotify, YouTube, Telegram, X, or a custom URI scheme for your own app.

Enter the target

Paste the username, phone number, or share URL of the exact content you want the link to open in the app.

Copy the deep link + fallback

Copy the app-scheme deep link and the web fallback. Test both on a real device before you share or print them.

What Is a Deep Link?

A deep link opens a specific screen inside an app, a track, a profile, a chat, instead of just launching the app to its home screen. Tap a Spotify deep link and you land on the exact song; tap a regular web link and you might get bounced to a login wall or the app's front page.

There are two flavours. A custom URI scheme (spotify:, instagram://) opens the app directly but fails silently if the app is not installed. A universal link (iOS) or App Link (Android) is a normal https:// URL that opens the app when installed and the website when not. This tool gives you both.

Watch out

A raw custom scheme has no fallback. If the app is not installed, the tap does nothing, no app store, no website. For campaigns that reach people who may not have the app, always pair it with a web link or use a smart routing link.

Deep Link vs Normal Link on Mobile

Short answer: a normal link opens your phone's browser and leaves people on the mobile web, while a deep link opens the native app straight to the exact screen. Same destination, far fewer taps.

Normal link versus deep link on mobile: a normal link lands in the browser, a deep link opens the native app on the right screen

How to Open a Link in the App, Not the In-App Browser

This is the problem most creators actually have. When someone taps your link in bio on Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook, it does not open in Chrome or Safari. It opens inside the app's own in-app browser, a stripped-down webview. There the visitor is often signed out, extensions don't run, and many one-tap actions are missing.

That quietly kills conversions. Tap a YouTube link inside Instagram's browser and you land on a logged-out web page, to subscribe you would have to sign in, so most people bounce. Open the same link in the YouTube app, where the viewer is already logged in, and subscribing, liking, or following is a single tap. Same destination; the container decides whether you convert.

What a raw deep link can and can't do here

The app-scheme link this tool generates (youtube://, instagram://) opens the app on a normal tap. But inside a locked-down in-app browser it is unreliable, the webview can swallow the scheme, and if the app is not installed the tap dead-ends with no fallback. A static link cannot detect where it was opened or react to it.

The reliable fix: a link that runs logic on tap

To escape the webview dependably, the link has to do something when tapped. Flyn deep links serve a lightweight redirect page that uses Android App Intents and iOS Universal Links to push the visitor into the native app, and fall back to the web automatically if the app is not installed. That fallback is the part a raw scheme can never do, and it is why a smart link lands far more taps in the right app.

Watch out

No method is 100% inside every in-app browser. The webview is deliberately restrictive. But a redirect page with app intents plus a web fallback is dramatically more reliable than a bare scheme, which simply fails when the app is missing.

Setting it up: shorten your destination with Flyn, turn on deep links, and use that one short link in your bio. It opens the app for people who have it, the web for everyone else, and logs every tap. Create a free account to save and track your links, and smart deep links are a Pro feature.

Deep Link Scheme Reference

The app-scheme formats this generator produces for each platform. The tool also outputs the matching https link as a fallback.

Platform	App scheme	Notes
WhatsApp	https://wa.me/<number>	Official click-to-chat link; add ?text= to pre-fill a message.
Telegram	tg://resolve?domain=<user>	Or the universal https://t.me/<user> link.
Instagram	instagram://user?username=<user>	Opens a profile in the app when installed.
Spotify	spotify:track:<id>	Also album, artist, playlist, episode, show.
YouTube	vnd.youtube://<id>	The youtu.be/<id> link also deep-links into the app.
X / Twitter	twitter://user?screen_name=<h>	twitter://status?id=<id> opens a specific post.

Built your link? Test it with our Deep Link Tester to confirm your iOS Universal Links and Android App Links are configured correctly before launch.

Why Use Flyn for Deep Links?

Smart fallback

One link opens the app if installed, or routes to the store or your website if not, no dead taps.

Device detection

Send iOS, Android, and desktop visitors to the right destination automatically.

Click analytics

See how many people opened the app vs the web; Pro breaks it down by device, country, and referrer.

Branded + trusted

On Pro, use your own short domain instead of an exposed raw scheme that scanners flag.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a deep link?

A deep link is a URL that points to a specific place inside a mobile app rather than just opening the app to its home screen, for example, a particular Spotify track, an Instagram profile, or a WhatsApp chat. Deep links use either a custom URI scheme (like spotify:track:ID) or a regular https link that the operating system routes to the app (a universal link). This generator builds both for the major platforms.

What is the difference between a deep link, a universal link, and an app link?

A custom-scheme deep link (instagram://, spotify:, whatsapp://) opens the app directly but does nothing if the app is not installed. An Apple Universal Link (iOS) and an Android App Link are regular https URLs that open the app when it is installed and fall back to the website in the browser when it is not. Universal/App Links are more robust, which is why the tool above also gives you the https version.

How do I make a deep link?

Pick the platform above, paste the relevant identifier (a phone number for WhatsApp, a username for Instagram or Telegram, a share URL for Spotify or YouTube), and the generator outputs the app-scheme deep link plus a web fallback. For your own app, choose "Custom scheme" and enter the scheme://path your app registers in its manifest (Android) or associated domains (iOS).

Why does my deep link not open the app when it is not installed?

Custom-scheme deep links (whatsapp://, instagram://) have no built-in fallback. If the app is missing, the browser simply fails to handle the scheme and nothing happens. To get graceful behaviour you need a redirect layer that detects whether the app is installed and sends users to the app store or your website instead. A smart short link does this for you; the raw scheme cannot.

What is a custom URI scheme?

A custom URI scheme is an app-specific protocol like myapp:// that an app registers with the operating system. When the OS sees a link starting with that scheme, it hands the link to the app. Schemes are simple to set up but are not unique, two apps can register the same scheme, and they offer no web fallback, which is why Apple and Google now recommend Universal Links and App Links for production.

How do I make a WhatsApp deep link?

Use WhatsApp's official click-to-chat format: https://wa.me/<number> where the number includes the country code with no plus sign or spaces, for example https://wa.me/14155551234. Add ?text=your%20message to pre-fill a message. Select WhatsApp above, enter the number and optional message, and the tool builds both the wa.me link and the whatsapp:// scheme version.

How do I open an Instagram, Spotify, or X link in the app?

Each platform exposes a scheme: instagram://user?username=NAME, spotify:track:ID (or album/artist/playlist), and twitter://user?screen_name=HANDLE. Tapping one on a phone with the app installed jumps straight into the app. Paste the username or share URL into the matching platform above and copy the generated scheme, plus the https fallback for everyone without the app.

What is deferred deep linking?

Deferred deep linking handles the case where the app is not yet installed. Instead of failing, the link sends the user to the app store, and after they install and open the app, it takes them to the original destination they tapped. This needs a backend service that stores the intended destination across the install, a raw scheme or universal link alone cannot defer.

How are deep links different on Android vs iOS?

iOS uses Universal Links, configured with an apple-app-site-association file on your domain, and also supports custom URL schemes. Android uses App Links, verified with a Digital Asset Links JSON file, plus custom-scheme intents. The concepts mirror each other: a verified https link opens the app when installed and the website otherwise. The custom schemes this tool generates work on both, subject to the app being installed.

Do deep links work inside Instagram and TikTok in-app browsers?

Often not reliably. In-app browsers (the webview inside Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, etc.) frequently block or ignore custom URI schemes and may not honour universal links, so a tap can stay stuck in the webview. The most reliable fix is a smart redirect that forces the link out to the system browser or the target app, which is exactly the problem branded deep links from a link platform solve.

How do I test a deep link?

Generate the link here, then verify it on a real device. Our free Deep Link Tester checks whether your iOS Universal Links and Android App Links are configured correctly (the apple-app-site-association and assetlinks.json files), which is the part that breaks most often. Generate with this tool, then test with the tester before you ship a campaign.

Can a deep link fall back to the web automatically?

Not on its own. A custom scheme has no fallback, and a universal link only falls back to the same web page, not to an app store. To get "open the app if installed, otherwise go to the store or website" from a single URL, you need a routing layer. Flyn's deep links (a Pro feature) do this, one short link, smart device detection, automatic fallback, and detailed click analytics.

How do I make my link in bio open in the app instead of Instagram's browser?

Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook open bio links in their own in-app browser, and a raw URL or scheme can't escape it reliably. The dependable method is a smart link that runs a redirect on tap: shorten your destination with Flyn, enable deep links, and use that short link in your bio. It uses Android App Intents and iOS Universal Links to open the native app, and falls back to the web if the app isn't installed.

Why do links open in the Instagram or Facebook in-app browser?

By design. Instagram and Facebook (both Meta apps) route outbound links through their own embedded webview so users stay inside the app. That in-app browser is stripped down, visitors are frequently logged out, browser extensions don't work, and one-tap actions like subscribe or add-to-cart are harder. A deep link with a proper redirect is what pushes the visitor out into the real app or their default browser instead.

How do I get a YouTube link to open in the YouTube app so people can subscribe?

The win is the logged-in session: in the YouTube app the viewer is already signed in, so subscribing or liking is one tap, whereas the in-app browser usually shows a logged-out page they abandon. Generate the link here for the raw scheme, but for a bio or campaign link use a Flyn deep link, it opens the YouTube app via Universal Links and App Intents and falls back to youtube.com if the app isn't installed.

Comparing full platforms that route iOS and Android traffic from one short link? See our ranking of the best link shorteners with device-based routing.

Deep links that never dead-end

A raw scheme breaks when the app is missing. A Flyn deep link detects the device, opens the app or your fallback, and tracks every click, from one short, branded URL.

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