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`June 21, 2021
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`A Brief History Of Deep Linking
`Chris Maddern2:00 PM EDT•June 12, 2015
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`Image Credits: Foto-Ruhrgebiet (opens in a new window)/ Shutterstock(opens in a new
`window)
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`Chris MaddernContributor
`Chris Maddern is a co-founder of Button.
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`Deep linking has become one of the hottest topics in mobile over the past year as dozens of
`startups have launched around using, improving and discovering deep links. All of the big platform
`companies also have projects to own “the deep linking standard” or the search index for mobile.
`So, what are deep links and where did they come from?
`What Is A Deep Link?
`In the most simple interpretation, a deep link is any link that directs a user past the home page of a
`website or app to content inside of it. e.g. linking directly to a product instead of the home page. In
`the context of 2015, we’re particularly interested in mobile deep links; links that can be used to
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`ironSource Exhibit 1007
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`open an app to a specific piece of content or action. For example the URL fb:// may open the
`Facebook app, but fb://profile/33138223345 opens Wikipedia’s profile in the Facebook app.
`Deep linking has grown up with the Internet
`The concept of deep linking has been around for a long time; first appearing commonly in media
`around 2006 to describe the growing practice of providing Google (and other search engines) with
`visibility into pages beyond the home page.
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`At the time, the term was also commonly misused to refer to hot linking, the practice
`of linking directly to files for download that were hosted by a third, non-participating party. That
`earned deep linking a public association with the exploding controversy around the online
`consumption of copyrighted material.
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`A number of courts in the U.S. issued judgements (and injunctions) on the idea that linking directly
`to content within a website could be a breach of that party’s copyright, especially when such
`a deep-linking party was monetizing the content with ads served alongside the content (such as a
`search listing preview). In 2006, threats against deep linking posed as real a threat to the open and
`functional Internet as those of net neutrality have in 2014.
`Just as the web settled, along came mobile apps
`In 2008, Apple released iPhone OS 2 (now iOS) and brought with it the iOS SDK. For the first
`time, developers could build applications for the iPhone and submit them to the new App Store.
`Apps, unlike web pages, were not based on the same “document structure” of the web. While,
`technically, even iOS 2 could handle deep linking, mapping to content and actions inside of the
`average app was incredibly hard.
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`App structures, and hooks to key actions or features, were opaque. It also wasn’t an acknowledged
`problem for developers; the ecosystem was nascent, apps were basic (at best), mobile commerce
`was non-existent and the perceived usefulness of deep linking was minimal.
`Deep linking to map from content on the web
`The problem that deep linking solved in the early years of iOS was mostly mapping web page
`items to the same item in an app: If I’m reading an article in Pulse/NYT on the web, how do I open
`that same article in the app? This meant that the first apps for which deep linking was truly useful
`were companies with large amounts of content. If an app has three items available, the burden for a
`user to choose between them is low, but if there are 20,000 options, the efficiency and UX benefit
`of deep linking a user directly is huge.
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`In 2012, Google+ introduced one of the first mainstream uses of deep linking outside of web-> app
`mapping when they announced deep links to content in the Google+ app. This was one of the first
`examples of a true app-to-app, deep-linking experience, hinting at the benefits of seamless app-
`based connections.
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`https://techcrunch.com/2015/06/12/a-brief-history-of-deep-linking/
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`The age of mobile commerce
`By 2013-2014, mobile commerce had begun to explode; people were buying real things on their
`mobile devices to the tune of billions and with it came a need for better tools to drive users through
`the conversion funnel. The millions that brands had invested in developing mobile apps were
`finally paying off. Apps were converting users to purchase far better than the mobile web (often
`many times over), but they had no good way to get users into their apps from traditional marketing
`and acquisition channels: email and web ads.
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`Services started popping up to take users from marketing emails and redirect them into apps
`using deep links. In some cases, they would also prompt users who didn’t have the app to
`download it from the App Store or Play Store. While that proved to be a challenging business to
`many service providers, it helped brands to direct their users more intelligently, providing higher
`conversion and better user experience.
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`It also brought to light a serious problem: how to address a specific item, piece of content or action,
`when there is no standard for how deep links are structured or discovered.
`Speaking a common language
`In order for me to write this article, and for you to be able to read it, we have to share a common
`language: modern English. The same holds true for directing users through deep links — in order
`to construct a deep link that an application will understand, we need to have some shared way of
`expressing information or addresses. In software engineering, a well-defined shared vernacular is
`defined by a “standard.”
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`The problem with standards, though, is that many of them do not actually become standard
`practice, and introduce as much fragmentation as they resolve. I could define the word
`“basilafacitarian” as “a person who likes basil a lot,” but unless it enters the common vernacular,
`it’s useless as a means of communication for me to tell you that I like basil.
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`The same is true for an app speaking to another app; unless the URL “myapp://show-item/id123” is
`mutually agreed upon, there’s no guarantee what the receiving app will do with it.
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`The industry is still waiting for a standard way to interpret, build and discover deep links — a
`problem that a number of companies are focused on, and a problem that I expect to see solved in
`the coming years.
`The future of deep links
`Deep links are simply a way to identify, address and transport users to specific content in apps.
`While convenient (and necessary), they’re not that revolutionary or exciting. The future value
`of deep links lies in how we use them — what’s built on top of them, and the new consumer
`experiences they’ll enable.
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`This will include novel ways to discover deep links for apps that you have, discovering new apps
`through deep-linkable relevant content and services, and the transfer of more intelligence across
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`https://techcrunch.com/2015/06/12/a-brief-history-of-deep-linking/
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`the links themselves. Much like a hyperlink, it’s not the mechanism that will change the world, but
`the way we use them to connect the web together.
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`June 21, 2021
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`https://techcrunch.com/2015/06/12/a-brief-history-of-deep-linking/
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