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Introduction to Deferred Linking

Detour Dashboard (available soon)​

Deferred deep linking lets you send users to specific in-app content even when they must first install the app. A deferred link records a click (and lightweight contextual signals) and then, after an install and first app open, attempts to deliver the original destination into the app.

Detour provides deferred linking for React Native apps via the React Native SDK. and a hosted matching platform. The core flow:

  1. A user clicks a Detour link under your org domain (e.g. https://yourorg.godetour.link/your-app/campaign-x).
  2. Detour records the click and redirects to the store.
  3. The user installs and opens your app. The SDK sends a device fingerprint (or a click_id when available) to Detour.
  4. Detour tries to match the fingerprint to a stored click and — if successful — returns the original path so the app can navigate to the right screen.
  • You preserve marketing context through the store-install friction, increasing the chance users see the exact promotion or content you intended.
  • You get attribution: know which link/campaign produced an install.
  • You can improve onboarding by pre-filling flows or showing contextual content on first open.

Deterministic vs Probabilistic Matching​

There are two principal techniques used by Detour:

  • Deterministic matching uses an explicit identifier generated during click-time that is preserved through the store-install flow and read on first app open (e.g., Android Install Referrer). Deterministic matches are exact and preferred when available. Detour uses click_id from the Play Install Referrer on Android for deterministic matching.

  • Probabilistic matching (a fallback) uses multiple signals collected at click time and again on first app open, then computes a similarity score. Signals can include user agent, screen size, system version, locale, timezone, IP and optionally the clipboard contents. If the best candidate's score exceeds a conservative threshold, we return the matched link.

Limitations and important notes​

  • Timing: probabilistic matching is time-sensitive. Detour focuses on a relatively short matching window (minutes) after a click.
  • Cross-device: if a user clicks on device A and installs on device B, matching will not work.
  • Privacy / platform constraints: iOS does not provide an install referrer equivalent. Clipboard-based heuristics can help but require the user's paste permission on iOS and are not guaranteed. Always design your campaigns with these constraints in mind.
  • Accuracy: probabilistic matching is best-effort. Detour uses conservative weights and thresholds to limit false positives (see the Matching Architecture page). Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee 100 percent accuracy, which is why we do not recommend using the solution for redirection to sensitive data.

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