Appy SDK

The SDK and install attribution are part of the Enterprise plan. The REST API and the MCP server are part of Business. Smart links themselves need no SDK on any plan: they route to the store, the web or an installed app from the moment you create them.

What you get#

How it works#

1. 1

   Someone taps an Appy link

   The link lives on your link domain, for example https://acme.appy.to/spring?item=42. Every link in your account works on that domain without changes.

2. 2

   The app is installed: it opens directly

   iOS or Android hands the URL to your app, you pass it to the SDK, and onDeepLink receives found with the slug, the parameters and the in-app destination.

3. 3

   The app is not installed: the store opens

   The link sends the person to the App Store, Google Play or AppGallery. Appy remembers the tap, and on Android the store carries the link through the install referrer.

4. 4

   The first launch asks Appy once

   Appy matches the install to the link that brought it. The app receives found with isDeferred set, notFound or failed, and a separate attribution: attributed with the link and its campaign, or organic.

5. 5

   Events follow the install

   Events you track are credited to the link that brought the install. Your backend can add server-side events and look up any install with a secret key.

Choose a platform#

Every platform needs the same two values from registering your app: the publishable key (appy_pk_…), which is safe to ship in the app, and the link domain (<subdomain>.appy.to). Never put a secret key (appy_sk_…) in an app.

Principles#

Verified sources first#

Appy looks for the link in sources that cannot be wrong before anything else: the link that opened the app, the click id Appy’s redirect page adds to custom-scheme links, and the Google Play or AppGallery install referrer. Only when none of these exists does Appy look for a recent tap that fits the new install. How attribution works describes the order.

One answer per launch#

The first launch gets one of three answers: the link (found), no link (notFound) or an error such as a timeout (failed), plus a separate attribution result. Deciding whether an install belongs to a tap is Appy’s job, not the app’s. A match that does not hold up is never delivered and never uses up the tap, so the phone that really tapped can still claim it.

For decisions that involve money, the install lookup tells your backend whether Appy verified the install, and strict attribution makes Appy count only verified installs and treat everything else as organic.

Nothing to track a person with#

• No advertising identifiers (IDFA, GAID), no App Tracking Transparency prompt, and nothing sent to ad networks.
• The matching layer never stores an IP address. A tap is filed under a keyed hash of the network address that changes every day and expires after two hours; the tap record itself lasts 24 hours.
• The install id is random, lives in the app’s own storage and disappears with the app.
• With tracking turned off, the server stores nothing for that device and only resolves links the user explicitly opened.

API first, SDK optional#

The SDKs are thin clients over two public endpoints, POST /v1/sdk/open and POST /v1/sdk/events. Any runtime can make the same calls: Using Appy without the SDK has working Swift, Kotlin and JavaScript versions of a few dozen lines each.

Size and footprint#

Both SDKs keep their state on a background queue and make every request off the main thread. The platform guides describe how each number was measured.

Integration at a glance#

Appy.configure(AppyConfiguration(publishableKey: "appy_pk_...", linkDomains: ["acme.appy.to"]))
Appy.shared.onDeepLink = { result in
    if case .found(let link) = result {
        router.open(slug: link.slug, parameters: link.parameters)
    }
}

Appy.init(this, AppyConfig("appy_pk_...", listOf("acme.appy.to")))
Appy.setDeepLinkListener { result ->
    if (result is AppyDeepLinkResult.Found) {
        router.open(result.link.slug, result.link.parameters)
    } else {
        router.openHome()
    }
}

Add the Associated Domains entitlement (iOS) or an autoVerify intent filter (Android) for your link domain, and pass incoming links to handle(url:) or handleIntent(intent) where the platform delivers them.

Scope#

Appy attributes installs and events to your Appy links: campaigns, QR codes, emails, social posts and referrals. It is not an ad-network measurement partner. It does not send postbacks to ad networks, does not handle SKAdNetwork or AdAttributionKit conversion values, and does not attribute installs to ads that never went through an Appy link.