# Deep Blue Links

> Deep Blue Links is a deep-linking service for iOS and Android apps. It turns a destination inside your app into a short universal link that opens the app directly when it is installed, and falls back to the App Store or Google Play when it is not. It covers what Firebase Dynamic Links did before Google shut that service down, and it is priced on the number of links you generate rather than on monthly active users.

Deep Blue Links is a product of Square Six Technologies (https://squaresix.com).
The dashboard is at https://app.dev.deepbluelinks.io, the documentation at https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/docs,
the OpenAPI document of the public API at https://dev.thedbl.ink/swagger/public/swagger.json, and a runnable example app
for every platform the guides cover at https://github.com/Nellkim/DeepBlueLinks.Sdk.

## What it does

- Universal links and App Links: We host the apple-app-site-association and assetlinks.json files for your link domain, so iOS and Android open your links straight in your app.
- Deferred deep linking: A link tapped before the install still opens the right screen on first launch: through the Play install referrer on Android, and a device match elsewhere.
- Short links with preview pages: Generated or custom short codes. Each link’s page shows your title, description and image in social previews, and sends visitors to the App Store, Google Play or your fallback URL.
- Custom domains: Serve links from your own domain. Verify it with a TXT record and a CNAME, and we issue and renew its certificate.
- Sandbox links: A sandbox API key marks the links your test backend creates, so QA builds can tell them apart, and it can never change a live link.
- Link analytics: Visits by platform, app opens and deferred matches, by day and by month, for each app and each link. Crawlers and link-preview bots don’t count.
- QR codes: Download any link as a QR code, in SVG for print or PNG for screens.
- Bulk import: Create up to 500 links from a CSV file. When a row has a problem, nothing is created and you see which row and why.
- Setup checks: The dashboard checks your domains’ files, Apple’s CDN copy and Google’s verification, and tells you what to fix before your users notice.

## How it is priced

Pricing is based on links generated, not monthly active users. Current plans:

- Free Plan: Free — up to 1,000 links generated per month
- Starter: $9.99/month — up to 10,000 links generated per month
- Growth: $19.99/month — up to 25,000 links generated per month
- Pro: $49.99/month — up to 100,000 links generated per month
- Scale: $149.99/month — up to 500,000 links generated per month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing

Full details at https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/pricing.

## Pages

- [Home](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/): what the product is and how to get started
- [What is deep linking?](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/deep-linking): definitions of universal links, App Links, custom URL schemes and deferred deep linking
- [Pricing](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/pricing): plans and limits
- [Frequently asked questions](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/faq): short answers about the product, pricing and setup
- [Contact](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/contact): the form for plan requests and questions
- [Documentation](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/docs): guides for every platform and the API reference
- [Privacy Policy](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/privacy-policy): what information is collected and how it is used

## Documentation

### Getting started

- [How Deep Blue Links works](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/docs): Deep Blue Links gives every app its own link host, serves the files iOS and Android need to trust it, and resolves each link back to a destination inside your app.
- [Quickstart](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/docs/quickstart): Create an app, generate its API keys, create a link with curl and open it on a phone.

### Concepts

- [Apps](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/docs/apps): An app's settings decide its link host, the verification files iOS and Android read, and what the preview page's buttons open.
- [Links](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/docs/links): What a link holds, how its URLs are built, the short-code rules, the preview page, clicks and the monthly quota.
- [Deferred deep links](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/docs/deferred-deep-links): How your app finds the link that sent a new user to the store, through the Play install referrer on Android and a device match elsewhere.
- [Sandbox links](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/docs/sandbox): Test from QA builds and sandbox backends with a sandbox API key, without touching live links.
- [Custom domains](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/docs/custom-domains): Serve your app's links from your own domain, verified with a TXT and a CNAME record, with certificates issued and renewed for you.
- [Authentication](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/docs/authentication): Every API call sends your app's API key in the Api-Key header; errors answer with their status and a JSON message.

### Guides

- [iOS](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/docs/guides/ios): Open your app from its links with universal links, resolve each link with the API, and find the link that led to an install.
- [Android](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/docs/guides/android): Open your app from its links with verified App Links, resolve each link with the API, and read the install referrer to find the link that led to an install.
- [Flutter](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/docs/guides/flutter): Open your Flutter app from its links on iOS and Android, resolve each link with the API, and find the link that led to an install.
- [React Native](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/docs/guides/react-native): Open your React Native app from its links, resolve each link with the API, and find the link that led to an install.
- [Capacitor](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/docs/guides/capacitor): Open your Capacitor app from its links, resolve each link with the API, and find the link that led to an install.
- [.NET](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/docs/guides/maui): Open your .NET MAUI, .NET for Android or .NET for iOS app from its links, resolve each link with the API, and find the link that led to an install.
- [Server](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/docs/guides/server): Create, update and delete your app's links from your backend with its API key, in curl, Node.js, Python and C#.

### API reference

- [Create a link](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/docs/api/create-link): `POST /api/links`
- [Get a link](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/docs/api/get-link): `GET /api/links/{id}`
- [Update a link](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/docs/api/update-link): `PUT /api/links/{id}`
- [Delete a link](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/docs/api/delete-link): `DELETE /api/links/{id}`
- [Get the link that led to an install](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/docs/api/check-deferred-link): `POST /api/links/check-deferred`
- [Resolve the link that opened the app](https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/docs/api/resolve-link): `POST /api/links/resolve`

The complete documentation as one file: https://dev.deepbluelinks.io/llms-full.txt

## Frequently asked questions

### What is Deep Blue Links?

Deep Blue Links is a deep-linking service for iOS and Android applications. It generates short universal links that open a specific screen inside your app when the app is installed, and route to the App Store or Google Play when it is not. It is a product of Square Six Technologies.

### Is Deep Blue Links a replacement for Firebase Dynamic Links?

Yes. Deep Blue Links was built when Google deprecated Firebase Dynamic Links, which stopped working in August 2025, because the team could not find a simple, cost-effective replacement. It covers the same core cases: direct deep linking into an installed app, deferred deep linking through an install, link shortening, social sharing metadata, click analytics, and fallback routing to the App Store or Google Play.

### How is Deep Blue Links priced?

Deep Blue Links is priced on the number of links generated, not on monthly active users. That means the cost tracks how much you actually use the service rather than how large your user base becomes. A free tier covers 1,000 generated links a month.

### How do I upgrade to a paid plan?

Every organization starts on the free plan. Paid plans are set up by the Deep Blue Links team while online payment is on its way: send a message from the contact page naming the plan, or, if your organization already exists, request the plan from its page in the dashboard.

### Which platforms does Deep Blue Links support?

iOS and Android. The service serves the Apple App Site Association (AASA) file and the Android assetlinks.json file needed for universal links and App Links, so you do not have to host and maintain those yourself.

### Does Deep Blue Links support deferred deep linking?

Yes. On Android, the Google Play link carries the short link in the install referrer, and the app resolves it exactly on its first launch. On iOS and other platforms, the app asks Deep Blue Links on its first launch for the link the user opened shortly before installing, and gets it back when the match is certain.

### Can I test links without touching production?

Yes. Each app can have a sandbox API key, which starts with sandbox_. Links created with it work exactly like live links and count toward your plan, and every API response about them carries isSandbox: true, so your app can load their content from your sandbox backend. A sandbox key can never change or delete a live link.

### Can I use my own domain for short links?

Yes. Custom domains are supported. You add a domain, verify ownership with a TXT record and a CNAME, and Deep Blue Links provisions and renews the certificate for it.

### Is there an SDK?

Deep Blue Links works through a REST API that any platform can call with your app’s API key. The documentation has step-by-step guides for iOS, Android, Flutter, React Native, Capacitor, .NET MAUI and servers, and an API reference you can try from the page.