The drop-in Firebase Dynamic Links replacement.
FDL is gone, and the OS doesn't bring back the parts you relied on — deferred deep linking, cross-platform routing, and attribution. LinkTrail does, and we'll migrate your existing links for free.
What maps to what
The replacement is close to one-to-one — LinkTrail was built for exactly the surface FDL left behind.
| Firebase Dynamic Links | LinkTrail |
|---|---|
| Dynamic Link (one URL, device-aware) | Smart link with iOS / Android / web routing |
| page.link / *.app.goo.gl domain | Your own branded, verified link domain |
| Deferred deep linking | Deferred deep linking with a richer first-open payload |
| Link analytics | Attribution with match type + real-time webhooks |
| Hand-managed AASA / assetlinks.json | Managed association files, auto-regenerated |
What the shutdown actually removed
Did Universal Links and App Links really replace Firebase Dynamic Links?
They replaced one part of it. Universal Links on iOS and App Links on Android open an installed app directly from an https:// URL, and that covers the everyday case where the user already has your app. What they do not do is survive an install: if the app is missing, the operating system falls back to the web, the user goes to the store, and by the time they open the app the link they tapped is gone. Google's guidance was accurate about direct deep linking and quiet about everything else.
What is deferred deep linking, and why does it need a third party?
Deferred deep linking is the mechanism that carries a link's destination and payload across an install, so a brand-new user's first open lands on the product, invite, or article they tapped. It needs a third party because neither Apple nor Google provides a general-purpose way to pass that context through the store. Android's Play Install Referrer carries a campaign string for Play Store installs, but there is no iOS equivalent and no cross-platform mechanism, so the matching has to happen on a server that saw both the click and the first open.
What happened to existing Firebase Dynamic Links URLs?
Links on the page.link and app.goo.gl domains stopped resolving when the service shut down, and links on custom domains stopped being served by Firebase. If your links were on a custom domain you control, you can repoint that domain at a new resolver and keep the URLs working — every link already printed, embedded in an email, or shared in a chat continues to resolve. That is the strongest argument for having used a custom domain, and the main reason to prioritise it during migration.
Do I need attribution, or just deep linking?
They are separable, and plenty of teams only need the first. If you use links for onboarding, invites, sharing, and email — getting users to the right screen — deep linking alone is enough. You need attribution when someone has to answer which campaign, channel, or partner produced an install, typically because money is being spent against that answer. LinkTrail's free plan includes both, so the honest way to find out is to migrate the linking and look at whether the attribution reports get used.
How long does migrating off Firebase Dynamic Links take?
For a single app with a modest set of link rules, a working migration is usually a few days of engineering and a sprint end to end, with verification taking longer than implementation. The code change is small: one SDK swap and one handler. The time goes into inventorying the links you already have in the wild, recreating routing rules faithfully, and testing Universal Links and App Links on genuinely clean installs — association files cache aggressively, and a device that has already seen your domain will not tell you the truth.
Migration in six steps
- 1Inventory your existing FDL links and the paths they point to.
- 2Stand up a LinkTrail link domain — ideally the custom domain you already used with FDL.
- 3Recreate your link rules: smart-routing destinations and deep link paths.
- 4Swap the SDK — replace the FDL handler with the LinkTrail deep-link handler.
- 5Repoint DNS / set redirects so old short links resolve to the new resolver.
- 6Verify Universal Links and App Links on a clean install before cutting over.
Don't break the links already in the wild
Links printed on packaging or sitting in old emails can't be edited. If you used a custom domain with FDL, we repoint it and map old paths to new with a catch-all, so existing URLs keep working — now served by LinkTrail. Our team does the migration with you, free.
Frequently asked questions
What replaced Firebase Dynamic Links?
There is no single Google replacement. Direct deep linking is now handled by iOS Universal Links and Android App Links, which you host yourself. Deferred deep linking, smart cross-platform routing, hosted short domains, and click attribution — the parts most teams actually relied on — have no OS-level equivalent and need a third-party platform such as LinkTrail.
Is there a free replacement for Firebase Dynamic Links?
Partly. Universal Links and App Links cost nothing if you host the association files yourself, but they only cover direct deep linking. LinkTrail's free plan covers 5,000 monthly active users and 25,000 clicks a month, which is enough to migrate a small app end to end — including deferred deep linking — before paying anything.
Will my existing Firebase Dynamic Links keep working after migration?
If you used a custom domain with FDL, yes — repoint that domain at LinkTrail and map the old paths with a catch-all, and links already printed or emailed keep resolving. If you only ever used the default page.link or app.goo.gl domain, those URLs are gone for good, so focus on updating every surface you still control.
How long does migrating from Firebase Dynamic Links take?
For a typical single-app setup, an afternoon. The work is standing up a link domain, recreating your link rules, swapping the FDL handler for the LinkTrail one in your app, and verifying Universal Links and App Links open on a clean install. Our team does the migration with you at no cost.
Does LinkTrail support the same platforms Firebase Dynamic Links did?
Yes, and the same web fallback behaviour. LinkTrail ships native SDKs for iOS and Android plus wrappers for React Native and Flutter, and one smart link routes to the App Store, Play Store, or your web page depending on the device that opened it.