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Ahsan Ali
Writes about deep linking & attribution
Ahsan Ali works with the teams integrating LinkTrail's iOS, Android, React Native, and Flutter SDKs, which is where most of what he writes here starts: deferred deep linking, install attribution after ATT, and the parts of the mobile growth stack the category tends to leave vague.
Last updated 27 Sept 2026
All 28 posts
- Product27 Sept 2026·4 min readThe best deep linking tools in 2026: an honest shortlistBranch, AppsFlyer OneLink, Adjust, LinkTrail or plain Universal Links? What each does best, what it costs, what it gives up, and how to choose.
- Engineering27 Sept 2026·4 min readHow to set up deferred deep linking on iOSiOS has no install referrer, so deferred deep links need another way through the App Store. Associated Domains, the SDK, the click token, and testing.
- Engineering27 Sept 2026·5 min readDeferred deep link landing on the home screen? Five places the payload gets lostThe link works and the SDK is set up, yet new installs open on the home screen. Five places a deferred deep link loses its payload, and how to find which.
- Engineering27 Sept 2026·4 min readHow to set up deferred deep linking on AndroidOn Android, the Play Install Referrer carries a deferred deep link through the store. App Links, the SDK, consent, and testing it end to end.
- Attribution27 Sept 2026·4 min readWhy your attribution numbers don't match across platforms (and which dashboard to trust)Meta says 120 installs, Google 95, your attribution tool 80, your backend 65. Why the numbers never align, and which dashboard to use for which decision.
- Engineering27 Sept 2026·4 min readUniversal Links stopped working after a deploy? Debugging AASA and assetlinks.json in productionLinks that worked in TestFlight break in production. The ways apple-app-site-association and assetlinks.json fail after a deploy, and the command for each.
- Engineering27 Sept 2026·5 min readWhy Universal Links fail in Instagram, TikTok and other in-app browsersYour Universal Link opens the app from Notes but not from an Instagram DM. Why in-app browsers swallow links, how to confirm it, and the fixes that work.
- Engineering27 Sept 2026·3 min readDeferred deep linking in Flutter: one Dart API for iOS and AndroidSet up deferred deep linking in a Flutter app: the plugin, platform setup for App Links and Universal Links, the iOS paste button, consent and testing.
- Growth27 Sept 2026·3 min readDeep links for Meta and TikTok ads: what works in each campaign typeMeta and TikTok treat app install campaigns differently from traffic campaigns. Where a smart link works, where the ad's deep link field does, and why.
- Product27 Sept 2026·4 min readAfter the Firebase Dynamic Links shutdown: what transfers, what doesn't, and the cutover orderpage.link is gone; a custom domain you owned can be reused. What survives the Firebase Dynamic Links shutdown, and the cutover order that avoids an outage.
- Attribution26 Sept 2026·10 min readiOS 27 Link Tracking Protection and Click IDs: Will iOS 27 Impact Your Attribution?iOS 27 didn't turn on click-ID stripping in regular Safari, but widened what gets stripped and which scripts are limited. What changed and how to adapt.
- Engineering26 Sept 2026·7 min readHow to test deep links before you ship: the pre-release checklistA deep link that works on your phone proves little. The test matrix, the commands, and the clean-install routine that catch broken links before users do.
- Engineering26 Sept 2026·6 min readDeep linking in React Native: Universal Links, App Links, and the first openHow a deep link reaches a React Native app, the AppDelegate override the stock template leaves out, Expo's config, and links that survive the install.
- Engineering27 Jun 2026·7 min readThe Firebase Dynamic Links replacement: a migration guideFirebase Dynamic Links is shut down. What you lost, how to replace deferred deep linking and smart routing, and how to migrate without breaking live links.
- Growth24 Jun 2026·6 min readStop sending paid installs to your homepageYou paid for a tap on a specific product, then dropped the user on your home screen. A deferred deep link carries that intent through the install.
- Attribution20 Jun 2026·5 min readInfluencer attribution: giving UGC channels the credit they earnInfluencer attribution that holds up: one link per creator, credit bound server-side, and reports broken out by match type so UGC channels get fair credit.
- Growth17 Jun 2026·5 min readOne link for every channel: smart links for TikTok, email, SMS, and QRSmart links route every tap by device — TikTok, email, SMS, QR, desktop — one URL that lands users in the right place and tags itself per channel.
- Product12 Jun 2026·5 min readRe-engagement deep links that don't dump users on 'Welcome back'Re-engagement deep links land returning users exactly where they left off — whether the app is still installed or has to survive a reinstall on the way.
- Growth9 Jun 2026·4 min readPromo codes that survive the installDeep-linked promo codes survive the install gap: carry the code in the deferred payload, apply it automatically on first open, and guard against abuse.
- Product5 Jun 2026·5 min readWeb-to-app handoff for a freemium funnelWeb-to-app handoff for freemium funnels: pass onboarding state through the install so users resume mid-flow, and measure the seam that leaks activation.
- Engineering2 Jun 2026·5 min readManaging link verification across multiple apps and bundle IDsLink verification across several apps: every bundle ID and signing fingerprint in the AASA and assetlinks.json, staging on its own domain, files generated.
- Engineering28 May 2026·5 min readBuilding an install-attribution pipeline with webhooksStream install.attributed events into your warehouse, verify the signatures, and reconcile probabilistic, deterministic, and SKAN in one place.
- Attribution8 May 2026·7 min readThe post-IDFA attribution playbook: signals, scoring, and what to ship nextMobile attribution after ATT: the matching waterfall, how to score probabilistic matches honestly, and the reporting trap that quietly skews budgets.
- Product19 Apr 2026·6 min readWhy deferred deep linking still matters in 2026What deferred deep linking is, why the install gap persists in 2026, and how carrying context through the app stores roughly doubles first-open conversion.
- Engineering2 Apr 2026·6 min readProbabilistic attribution: building a device fingerprint scorer that doesn't lieHow probabilistic matching works: the five device signals, the weights, the precision-recall harness — and the consent requirement most guides skip.
- Privacy21 Mar 2026·6 min readSKAdNetwork 5: what changed and what to ship this quarterSKAdNetwork 5 migration guide: re-engagement postbacks, coarse conversion values across the new windows, and how it carries over to AdAttributionKit.
- Growth4 Mar 2026·5 min readMeasuring install lift: the growth marketer's incrementality guideIncrementality testing for mobile installs: a working definition of lift, a clean measurement design, and the three places your ROAS numbers are lying.
- Engineering12 Feb 2026·8 min readApp Links vs Universal Links: the practical setup guide nobody wroteiOS Universal Links vs Android App Links: how AASA and assetlinks.json work, the MIME and cache pitfalls, and a checklist that opens the app every time.
Ahsan Ali — common questions
What does Ahsan Ali write about?
Deferred deep linking, install attribution after App Tracking Transparency, SKAdNetwork and AdAttributionKit, fraud, privacy and consent, and migrating off Firebase Dynamic Links — the questions that come up when teams integrate LinkTrail's SDKs.
What is Ahsan Ali's role at LinkTrail?
He works with the teams integrating LinkTrail's iOS, Android, React Native and Flutter SDKs, and writes the LinkTrail blog.