# LinkTrace

> LinkTrace is a privacy-first install attribution and referral tracking platform for mobile apps. It enables developers to track which campaigns, referral links, and channels drive app installs — without requiring any third-party SDK. Integration takes minutes using two API calls. LinkTrace is the purpose-built alternative to Firebase Dynamic Links (deprecated August 2025) and a published-price alternative to Branch and AppsFlyer, with flat-rate pricing and no per-install charges.

## Product

- [Homepage](https://linktrace.in): Product overview, features, pricing, and the most-asked FAQ questions.
- [Pricing](https://linktrace.in/pricing/): Three plans, all billed monthly in USD. Starter is free forever (a one-time allowance of 100 Dynamic Links and 1,000 attributed installs, plus deferred deep linking, referral tracking, and link-wise click counts); Growth is $9.99/month (1,000 links/month, 10,000 attributed installs/month, analytics dashboard, integration support); Scale is $29.99/month (unlimited links and attributed installs, custom event tracking, full contextual deep linking suite, branded subdomain, enterprise support). Flat monthly rates — no per-install or per-click billing on any plan, no annual contract, no credit card needed for the free plan. The page also carries the full plan-by-plan feature matrix, billing and cancellation terms, a cost comparison against Branch (three tiers, no published price on any of them), AppsFlyer (published Growth rate of $0.07 per conversion after 12,000 free conversions in year one; Enterprise and all paid deep-linking tiers unpublished) and Firebase Dynamic Links (shut down August 2025), and a pricing FAQ.
- [Compare](https://linktrace.in/compare/): Hub of side-by-side comparisons against the deep linking and mobile attribution platforms teams evaluate alongside LinkTrace. Every competitor figure is one the vendor publishes, attributed inline to the page it came from and dated; where a vendor publishes nothing, the pages say so rather than estimating.
- [LinkTrace vs Branch](https://linktrace.in/compare/branch/): Primary-sourced comparison, all Branch facts checked 24 August 2026 against Branch's own pages. Branch does not publish a price for any of its plans: its pricing page lists three tiers — Basics, Essentials and Enterprise — with no figure attached to any of them, Basics offers a free trial, and Essentials and Enterprise both route to a demo request. Third-party sites quote Branch entry prices of $199, $299, $499, ~$500 and $999 per month and annual contracts from $15,000 to $200,000; none of those figures comes from Branch and they do not agree with each other, so this page does not repeat any of them as a price. One first-hand observation: a legacy Branch account LinkTrace holds shows a $0 base cost, a 10,000 monthly-active-user allowance and an overage rate of $5 per 1,000 MAU per product as of 24 August 2026 — observed on a live account, not published by Branch, and possibly grandfathered. "Per product" is the load-bearing detail: Branch sells Engagement, Performance, Activation, Discovery, Data Exports, Banners and Link Management separately, so one user can be metered under each product they touch. Branch's pricing page is titled "Flexible Mobile Ads Attribution Plans & Pricing" and deep linking is not a priced line item anywhere in its feature matrix — the page prices paid-media attribution, with deep linking included as infrastructure. Branch requires the Branch SDK on both iOS and Android, and checkPasteboardOnInstall(), which improves deferred deep link matching, is gated to Branch's Engagement package. LinkTrace publishes all three prices ($0, $9.99/mo, $29.99/mo, flat, no overage), requires no SDK (two HTTPS calls) and includes deferred deep linking on the free plan. Branch is the correct choice for paid user acquisition across ad networks, SKAdNetwork/SKAN conversion-value and LTV modelling, ad-partner postbacks, fraud reporting, CTV/OTT attribution (Enterprise only) and multi-touch attribution — LinkTrace offers none of these. LinkTrace measured 97% Android and 85% iOS match rates in controlled testing within 30 minutes of click; accuracy across the full 24-hour window is lower, and unmatched installs return attributed: false rather than a guess.
- [LinkTrace vs AppsFlyer](https://linktrace.in/compare/appsflyer/): Primary-sourced comparison, all AppsFlyer facts checked 23 August 2026 against AppsFlyer's own pages. AppsFlyer's free Zero deep-linking tier does not include deferred deep linking — that starts at the Standard tier, which is custom-priced behind a demo request and additionally requires the AppsFlyer SDK 6.1+ and a Unified Deep Linking implementation in the app. LinkTrace includes deferred deep linking on its free plan with no SDK (two HTTPS calls). AppsFlyer's full-platform Growth plan bills $0.07 per conversion after a Welcome Package of 12,000 free conversions in year one; below that volume in year one AppsFlyer is cheaper than LinkTrace. Crossover against LinkTrace Growth ($9.99/mo flat) is ~143 conversions/month, and against LinkTrace Scale ($29.99/mo flat, no install cap) ~429 conversions/month. AppsFlyer publishes no price for any paid deep-linking tier and no Enterprise rate. AppsFlyer is the correct choice for paid-media measurement, SKAdNetwork/AdAttributionKit conversion-value management, ad-network postbacks, Protect360 fraud protection and cost aggregation — LinkTrace offers none of these. LinkTrace measured 97% Android and 85% iOS match rates in controlled testing within 30 minutes of click; accuracy across the full 24-hour window is lower, and unmatched installs return attributed: false rather than a guess.
- [FAQ](https://linktrace.in/faq/): Canonical answers to common questions, grouped by topic — what LinkTrace is and who it is for, the two-call integration and where the API key comes from, deferred deep linking vs. ordinary deep linking and when Universal Links need a branded subdomain, the 24-hour attribution window and how installs are matched without an SDK (probabilistic device fingerprint matching on both iOS and Android), migrating off Firebase Dynamic Links, how LinkTrace differs from Branch and AppsFlyer and when an MMP is actually warranted, and what data is collected (no IDFA, no GAID, no cross-app profiles).
- [Features](https://linktrace.in/#features): Install attribution without SDK, deferred deep linking, referral tracking, dynamic link generation, server-side device fingerprint matching, custom domain support, real-time analytics.

## Use cases

- [Deferred Deep Linking](https://linktrace.in/deferred-deep-linking/): What deferred deep linking is and how LinkTrace does it without an SDK — the server creates a link with the target screen in customPayload, the user installs from the App Store or Play Store, and the app calls the Attribution API once after install to read the payload and navigate. Included on every plan, including free. States the limits plainly: matching is probabilistic device fingerprint matching, the user must install within 24 hours of tapping, and private browsing, in-app browsers or a device switch can break the match, in which case the API returns attributed: false.
- [Deep Linking](https://linktrace.in/deep-linking/): Standard, deferred and contextual deep links compared, and how Universal Links (iOS) and App Links (Android) work on LinkTrace: links are served from a branded subdomain (your-brand.linktrace.in, Scale plan) where LinkTrace hosts the apple-app-site-association and assetlinks.json files; you enter Team ID, bundle ID, package name and SHA-256 fingerprint under Settings › Deep Linking. Without a branded subdomain, links still route to the right store. Covers where deep links break: in-app browsers, fresh installs, platform differences.
- [Referral Tracking](https://linktrace.in/referral-tracking/): Referral tracking for mobile apps that survives the app store install — one link per referrer (referrerIdentifier), the click recorded server-side, and the referrer returned by the Attribution API after the invitee signs up. No referral codes, no SDK, every plan including free; a userId is attributed only once. Custom event tracking for post-install behaviour is on Scale.
- [Install Attribution](https://linktrace.in/install-attribution/): Install attribution without an MMP — two HTTP calls, a 24-hour window, and full link metadata (referrer, source, campaign, medium, customPayload) returned on match. Includes an honest LinkTrace-vs-full-MMP table and the measured accuracy: 97% Android and 85% iOS in controlled testing within 30 minutes of click, lower across the full window.
- [Firebase Dynamic Links Alternative](https://linktrace.in/firebase-dynamic-links-alternative/): Migration page for teams replacing Firebase Dynamic Links (shut down 25 August 2025). Maps each FDL feature to its LinkTrace equivalent, gives a four-step migration, and states where LinkTrace is not a replacement (Firebase Analytics funnels, Remote Config experiments, Firebase Auth email-link sign-in, paid-UA measurement).
- [MMP Alternative](https://linktrace.in/mmp-alternative/): When a full mobile measurement partner (AppsFlyer, Adjust, Branch) is worth it and when a lightweight alternative is enough, with a decision checklist. LinkTrace covers install attribution, deferred deep linking and referral tracking; it does not do SKAdNetwork management, ad-network postbacks, fraud scoring or paid-media cost aggregation.

## Documentation

- [Documentation Home](https://linktrace.in/documentation/): Index of all LinkTrace developer documentation — integration guides and API reference.
- [How LinkTrace Works](https://linktrace.in/documentation/how-it-works/): End-to-end integration lifecycle. Create a tracking link, share it, LinkTrace records the click and redirects, then your app calls the attribution API on first launch. Two API calls total.
- [Deferred Deep Linking](https://linktrace.in/documentation/deferred-deep-linking/): Route newly installed users to a specific in-app screen. Encode the target screen in customPayload at link creation, read it back from the attribution response after sign-up. iOS, Android, React Native, and Flutter examples.
- [Enable Deep Linking](https://linktrace.in/documentation/enable-deep-linking/): Make LinkTrace links open inside an already-installed app. Covers Apple Team ID and bundle ID, Android package name and SHA-256 fingerprint, Associated Domains, and auto-verified intent filters.
- [API Reference](https://linktrace.in/documentation/api-reference/): Full Client API reference — authentication, parameters, responses, and error codes.

## API Endpoints

Base URL: `https://api.linktrace.in`. Authentication is via API key header. No SDK required.

- `POST /api/v1/referral-links` — Generate a dynamic link for a referrer or campaign. Returns a short URL of the form `https://app.linktrace.in/r/{shortCode}`.
- `POST /api/v1/attributions` — Attribute an install. Call once from the app after the user completes sign-up, passing a `userId`. Returns the matching link's referrer, source, campaign, medium, and customPayload, or `attributed: false` outside the 24-hour attribution window.
- `GET /api/v1/referral-links/metadata` — Resolve a link URL or short code to its stored metadata.
- `POST /api/v1/events` — Track post-install events against an attributed user.

## Blog

- [Google Play Install Referrer: The Complete Developer's Guide (2026)](https://linktrace.in/blog/google-play-install-referrer-guide/): How Google Play Install Referrer works: setup, Kotlin code, the data you get back, its real limits, and when to use an SDK-less alternative instead.
- [Deep Links in In-App Browsers: Why Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook Break Your Links (and How to Keep the Attribution Too)](https://linktrace.in/blog/deep-links-in-app-browsers/): Why Universal Links and App Links fail inside the in-app browsers of Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and other social apps: the host app, not the operating system, handles the tap, so the OS never gets the chance to open your app (Apple's TN3155 leaves it to non-Safari browsers to enable Universal Links; an Android WebView keeps links inside itself unless the host app launches intents). Covers the iOS-specific traps, Android's user-gesture and intent rules, and what breaks platform by platform. The attribution cost: when the link stays in the webview, the invite code, referrer ID and campaign tags stay there too, so a later store install shows up as direct or organic. The fix is a layered stack — valid apple-app-site-association and assetlinks.json files, recording the click server-side before any redirect, deferred deep linking to restore context on first open after a fresh install, an explicit user-tapped "Open in the app" button for installed users (never auto-fired), and monitoring the clicks-to-app-opens ratio per source platform. States plainly that no SDK can force a social app's webview to hand a tap to the OS.
- [Universal Links vs App Links: How They Work and Where They Stop](https://linktrace.in/blog/universal-links-vs-app-links/): How Universal Links (iOS) and App Links (Android) open an installed app from an HTTPS link, and where both stop. Covers whether you need both (a cross-platform app sets up both on one URL), how each is verified (apple-app-site-association on iOS; assetlinks.json with the package name and SHA-256 signing-certificate fingerprint on Android), what actually differs between them, and a debugging guide for why a link opens the browser instead of the app. Key point: when the app is not installed, the link is just a web page on both platforms — nothing sends the user to the store and nothing carries the tapped URL into a freshly installed app, so the user lands on the home screen. Deferred deep linking covers that install gap: deterministically on Android through the Google Play Install Referrer, probabilistically everywhere else. Also separates deep linking from attribution.
- [Do You Need an MMP? A Decision Guide for Early-Stage App Teams](https://linktrace.in/blog/do-you-need-an-mmp/): Vendor-neutral decision guide, published 24 August 2026. Core framing: an MMP is an arbitration layer for competing ad-network attribution claims, not a measurement layer. Self-reporting networks (Meta, Google Ads, TikTok, Snap, X, Apple Search Ads) own the click themselves, so attribution is inverted — you report the install and ask each network whether it claims it, and each answers using only its own data, which is why claims from multiple networks overlap and sum to more than your actual installs. You need an MMP if: you run two or more paid ad networks; you need row-level Meta data via Advanced Mobile Measurement (MMP-only, re-enabled 17 June 2025, not retroactive); you need iOS user-level attribution from ad networks (the SRN query API is restricted to certified MMPs); you buy from long-tail or incentivised networks and need fraud filtering; or you need SKAdNetwork conversion-value management across networks. You do not need one for deep linking, deferred deep linking, dynamic store routing, referral attribution, or content and creator attribution — those are link-infrastructure jobs MMPs bundle, not jobs that require an MMP, because a link you minted yourself has no network to arbitrate against. Android teams can use the public Google Play Install Referrer API directly (roughly a week of work); the article states openly that Meta's encrypted campaign metadata inside that referrer appears to require an MMP to decrypt and that advertiser-side decryption is undocumented. Costs checked 24 August 2026: AppsFlyer Growth is $0.07/conversion after 12,000 free conversions in year one (about $350/mo at 5,000 monthly non-organic installs, $700 at 10,000); Branch publishes no price for any tier. Also names when to buy an MMP instead of LinkTrace and when to build on Play Install Referrer instead, plus a four-question decision checklist.
- [What Is an MMP? AppsFlyer's Cost, Limits, Alternatives](https://linktrace.in/blog/does-your-app-need-mmp-appsflyer/): What AppsFlyer actually does, its real pricing and minimum commitments, when the economics shift in its favour, and the alternatives (Branch, Linkrunner, LinkTrace).
- [Deferred Deep Links vs Deep Links: What's the Difference and Why It Matters](https://linktrace.in/blog/deferred-deep-links-vs-deep-links/): How each works, and why deferred deep linking is the harder problem to solve.
- [How We Solved Referral Attribution for Knudge.me: Crediting the Right Referrer, Automatically, Even After a Fresh Install](https://linktrace.in/blog/knudge-referral-attribution-firebase-alternative/): A production case study — crediting the right referrer automatically, even after a fresh install.
- [Deferred Deep Links Are Harder Than They Look (And Most Teams Get Them Wrong)](https://linktrace.in/blog/deferred-deep-links-implementation-guide/): Fingerprint matching vs deterministic attribution, where iOS and Android implementations silently break, and build-vs-buy after the Firebase Dynamic Links shutdown.
- [How to Run a Mobile Referral Program (Android, iOS & Web)](https://linktrace.in/blog/mobile-referral-program-android-ios-web/): Deferred deep linking, double-sided rewards, fraud prevention, K-factor measurement, and examples from Dropbox, Lyft, Rappi, and Robinhood.
- [You're Getting Installs from Twitter, Reddit, and LinkedIn — But You Can't Attribute It](https://linktrace.in/blog/organic-social-attribution-twitter-reddit-linkedin/): Organic social attribution for Twitter, Reddit, and LinkedIn.
- [How to Track App Installs Without Firebase or AppsFlyer](https://linktrace.in/blog/track-app-installs-without-firebase-appsflyer/): SDK-free attribution methods: server-side fingerprinting, Play Install Referrer, SKAdNetwork.
- [App Growth & Link Tracking: A Practical Guide for Founders](https://linktrace.in/blog/app-growth-link-tracking-practical-guide-founders/): Attribution clarity for app founders.
- [How to Grow App Installs Organically with Referral Programs: A Complete Guide for Startups](https://linktrace.in/blog/grow-installs-with-referrals/): Sustainable referral-driven growth loops.
- [Referral Tracking for Mobile Apps: 2-API Guide, No SDK](https://linktrace.in/blog/implement-referral-tracking-apps/): Complete guide with code examples.
- [Referral Programs for Product-Led Growth: How to Achieve App Virality in 2025](https://linktrace.in/blog/referral-programs-product-led-growth/): Building viral referral programs.
- [Firebase Dynamic Links Alternatives: What Actually Replaces FDL in 2026](https://linktrace.in/blog/alternatives-for-firebase-dynamic-links/): Sourced comparison of FDL replacements after the 25 August 2025 shutdown, when all links began returning HTTP 404. Covers what broke (including Firebase Authentication email-link sign-in, password reset and Android/Cordova OAuth flows), how to tell routing from attribution before choosing, and the options grouped by job: LinkTrace, ChottuLink and Airbridge for lightweight deep linking and attribution; Branch, AppsFlyer, Kochava, Adjust and Singular for paid-media measurement; Bitly and Dub for shortening only; plus build-your-own and a nine-step migration checklist.
- [Install Attribution for Indie Developers: Track Your App's Growth with Simple APIs](https://linktrace.in/blog/install-attribution-guide-indie-developers/): Step-by-step guide with API examples.

## Competitive Positioning

- LinkTrace vs Firebase Dynamic Links: Firebase Dynamic Links reached end-of-life in August 2025. LinkTrace provides equivalent functionality (deferred deep linking, install attribution, referral tracking) with a free tier and no per-install charges. Feature mapping and migration steps: https://linktrace.in/firebase-dynamic-links-alternative/
- LinkTrace vs Branch: Branch is an enterprise mobile linking and measurement platform built around paid-media attribution. It publishes no price for any of its three tiers and requires the Branch SDK on iOS and Android. LinkTrace publishes every price, is flat-rate from $0, requires no SDK, and covers deep linking, deferred deep linking and referral attribution rather than paid-media measurement. Full sourced comparison: https://linktrace.in/compare/branch/
- LinkTrace vs AppsFlyer: AppsFlyer is a full MMP; its deep linking and deferred deep linking require the AppsFlyer SDK 6.1+ and a Unified Deep Linking implementation, and deferred deep linking is not in its free tier. LinkTrace requires no SDK and includes deferred deep linking free. Full sourced comparison: https://linktrace.in/compare/appsflyer/
- LinkTrace vs a full MMP (AppsFlyer, Adjust, Branch): an MMP is the right tool for paid user acquisition across ad networks — SKAdNetwork management, ad-network postbacks, fraud scoring and paid-media cost aggregation, none of which LinkTrace offers. For link-driven growth (referrals, social, messaging, QR, influencers) LinkTrace covers install attribution, deferred deep linking and referral tracking with no SDK and flat published pricing. Decision checklist: https://linktrace.in/mmp-alternative/

## Technical Architecture

- No SDK required: Attribution handled at server and redirect layer using fingerprint matching. Nothing embedded in app binary.
- Privacy compliance: Does not use IDFA or GAID. Compatible with Apple ATT framework, India DPDP Act, and Android Privacy Sandbox.
- Matching is probabilistic on both iOS and Android: a device fingerprint captured at click time is compared against the app's first-launch attribution call inside a 24-hour window. LinkTrace does not use the Play Install Referrer API, and does not claim deterministic matching on either platform. When there is no confident match, the API returns attributed: false rather than a best guess.

## Company

- Founded: 2025
- Contact: contact@linktrace.in
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/linktrace_in
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/linktrace-in/
- Product Hunt: https://www.producthunt.com/products/linktrace
- Current version: v1.5.2

## Optional

- [Blog Index](https://linktrace.in/blog/): All published articles on mobile attribution, referral tracking, and app growth strategy.