Deep Linking Apps and the End of the Web URL

Last week at the F8 conference Facebook set to target the problem we face everyday when using apps. Launching applinks.org the app tackles problems with linking apps through different platforms. 

As Ilya Sukhar said "If I try to open third-party apps, I’m stuck in the web browser where I have to log in again”. This "mobile deep-linking", the term often used to describe app-to-app linking, is used currently because developers have difficulty designing apps to operate smoothly on a diverse range of devices. Every app is modified according to whatever device they have, which is where problems occur. Currently the app only supports iOS, Android and Windows Phones but is open to broadening that. 

In simple terms using the app, you pass it a web URL and if a compatible mobile app is installed, it will automatically load that app instead of the web version. And if you don't have the app it will take you to the app store. So tapping a link to a Spotify song in Facebook Messenger won't take you to the Spotify website asking you to login, it would take you directly to that song in the Spotify app.

Facebook’s own apps already support AppLinks. But it has partnered with a large range of third-party services that are also now using this service.

http://mashable.com/2014/04/30/facebook-app-links/

http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/30/facebook-launches-applinks-org-to-make-linking-between-apps-easier/

-Melissa