Click handling & redirect flow (how Detour handles an incoming link click)
This document explains the client-side and platform-side flow executed when a user clicks a Detour deferred link and how the redirect logic works.
High-level flow
- User opens
https://<org>.godetour.link/<app-name>/...in a browser. - The platform handles the click.
- Fingerprint of device is collected immediately or special page for iOS is displayed. On that page users decide whether they want to copy the link to their clipboard. This can be controlled on dashboard during iOS configuration.
- Based on OS, the platform redirects the appropriate store or to fallback url for desktop web.
Click handling
The Detour solution recognizes URLs as deferred links with a .link top-level domain. Detour searches for the app configuration connected with the deferred link and then redirects the user to the appropriate resource based on the device's OS.
During this lookup process, only the base URL with the platform-generated hash is considered. This means you can add new path segments and URL search parameters to the platform-generated part without affecting the redirection logic. These custom segments can then be utilized when handling the returned link by mobile app SDK. This way you can have multiple links to different resources within one app.
Passing parameters to Redirect URL
You can define one url for desktop redirection for all deferred links within one app. However, it's possible to pass same search params which you added to deferred link to desktop fallback. Just select appropriate strategy on Link Settings.
Available strategies:
- Pass all parameters - all search params used in deferred link will be passed to desktop fallback.
- Pass specific parameters - only search params you specify will be passed to desktop fallback.
- Don't pass parameters - leave fallback as it is, don't copy search params from deferred link.