In-app browsers

Apps such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn and X open links in a browser of their own. Those browsers often keep the visitor inside and do not hand the tap to the operating system, so Universal Links and App Links do not fire and your app does not open. A plain redirect to the store works, but an installed app is ignored.

What DL2App does

• Detects the in-app browser from the request and records which one it was, so you can see it in analytics.
• Serves a hand-off page instead of redirecting: your app’s name and icon, and one real button. A tap on a real link that crosses to your -alt host is the thing these browsers most reliably pass to the operating system.
• Falls back to the store from the same page if the app is not installed.
• Shows no ads and nothing else on that page.

If you prefer the old behaviour, set In-app browsers to “straight to the store” in project settings.

What nobody can do

• Force an in-app browser to open your app without a tap. If a vendor claims it, test it.
• Guarantee the button works in every version of every app. These browsers change without notice, and some block app opening outright for some links.
• Rely on query parameters surviving. Some in-app browsers strip them, which is why the link’s path and stored data carry what your app needs.

Testing

On a link’s page, Test this link gives you a debug link that behaves as Instagram’s browser would see it. The project’s Health page lists what to try in each in-app browser. Nothing replaces tapping your link inside the real apps on a real phone before a campaign.