Deep Links, Flyn Documentation

Open short links directly in native mobile apps instead of the browser. Supports YouTube, Instagram, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, TikTok, Spotify, and more.

Overview

Deep Links automatically detect when a user taps your short link on a mobile device and redirects them to the native app instead of the mobile browser. This results in a better user experience and higher engagement rates.

How it works

When a mobile user taps a Flyn short link with Deep Links enabled, Flyn serves a lightweight redirect page that attempts to open the destination URL in the native app using platform-specific URI schemes (Android Intents / iOS Universal Links). If the app is not installed, the user is seamlessly redirected to the web version.

Supported Platforms

Deep Links currently support the following platforms:

YouTube

Instagram

Twitter/X

Facebook

TikTok

Spotify

Amazon

Discord

Twitch

GitHub

Snapchat

Enabling Deep Links

Via Dashboard

Create or edit a link in the Flyn dashboard
Navigate to the Routing tab
Toggle "Open in native app" on
Save your link

Via API

Set the deepLink field to true when creating or updating a link:

Request

curl -X POST https://www.flyn.to/api/links \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ",
    "deepLink": true
  }'

The Link Object

The deep link field on the Link object:

Field	Type	Description
deepLink	boolean	When true, mobile users will be redirected to the native app instead of the browser. Only works for supported platforms. Default: false.

Behavior Details

Mobile (iOS & Android)

Flyn attempts to open the native app using platform-specific deep link schemes. If the app is not installed, the user is automatically redirected to the web URL after 1.5 seconds.

Desktop

Desktop users are always redirected to the web URL with a standard 302 redirect. Deep linking only activates on mobile devices.

Crawlers & Bots

Social media crawlers (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) always receive the standard redirect so link previews work correctly.

Compatibility

Deep Links work alongside all other Flyn features:

Click Analytics, clicks through deep links are tracked normally
A/B Testing, deep links respect the A/B split
Password Protection, password check happens before deep link redirect
Custom OG Tags, crawlers see your custom metadata, users get the deep link
Geo/Device Routing, routing rules are applied before deep link logic

Note

Deep link behavior depends on the user having the target app installed. If the app is not installed, the user is seamlessly redirected to the web version. No additional configuration is needed.