Firebase Dynamic Links, not working

Question

I am trying to investigate Firebase Dynamic Links, at this point without much success.

I got started with this: https://firebase.google.com/docs/dynamic-links/ios/create . Though I followed the instruction as much as I could. I seem to hit a problem when testing:

https://app_code.app.goo.gl/apple-app-site-association

With my information typing something like the line below in the browser, in Safari (on my computer, or mailing the link to my iphone):

https://zy37bs.app.goo.gl/apple-app-site-association

I get this result:

{"applinks":{"apps":[],"details":[]}}

If I test the same link in FireFox I get about seven line of garbage (starting with the same as above), but it does not seem to contain anything usable.

I have never touched Firebase Dynamic Links before. What can be the problem?

Answer 1

This relates to how iOS Universal Links work. Universal Links are a protocol from Apple that Firebase uses. The URL https://zy37bs.app.goo.gl/apple-app-site-association is not a Universal Link — it is the location of a verification file required by iOS to enable Universal Links. An actual Dynamic Link (enabled for Universal Links) would look something like https://zy37bs.app.goo.gl/my-link-slug .

For a more conceptual overview of how Universal Links work, check out this blog post . It won't be totally relevant in your case because Firebase takes care of the hosting components, but it should help clarify what is happening under the hood.