Deferred deep linking
A link that survives the trip through the app store, so a brand new install opens on the screen the link pointed at, invite code and all.
See it
What it is
A normal deep link dies if the app is not installed: the user gets bounced to the store, installs, opens the app, and lands on a generic home screen with no memory of the shared recipe, the invite, or the referral code. Deferred deep linking carries that context across the install gap so first launch opens exactly where the link pointed, with the inviter attached.
Neither platform gives you this for free, so it is SDK territory: Branch, AppsFlyer, Adjust, and similar. The click hits their server, which stashes the destination, then on first open the SDK asks 'is there a pending link for this install?' and matches. Matching happens by deterministic signals when available (a click ID passed through, an App Clip or Instant App handoff, a code on the clipboard) and by probabilistic fingerprinting (IP plus device characteristics, in a short time window) when not.
Gotchas: probabilistic matching is genuinely lossy and got worse as platforms tightened privacy, so never make an irreversible decision on it alone. Always ship a fallback the user can complete manually, like a 'Have an invite code?' field. Test on a device that has never had the app (reinstalls behave differently from true first installs), and remember the clipboard trick now shows a visible paste banner on iOS, which users notice and dislike.
Ask AI for it
Implement deferred deep linking for a referral flow in this React Native app using Branch. On the web, generate a link carrying { screen: 'invite', inviterId, campaign }. On first app launch, initialize the SDK, read the pending link params, and if +clicked_branch_link is true route straight to the invite screen with the inviter prefilled; otherwise fall through to normal onboarding. Store the attribution once, keyed to install, so it is not re-applied on later launches. Add a manual 'Enter invite code' fallback for when matching misses, and write a test plan covering fresh install, reinstall, and app-already-installed paths.