A Firebase Dynamic Links alternative without an SDK

Firebase Dynamic Links stopped working on 25 August 2025. If you used them to send people to the right store, SetLinks does that with one link and a QR code — with no SDK to install.

Since the shutdown, every Dynamic Link answers with a 404 and the page.link domains are gone for good, according to Google’s own FAQ. Links printed on packaging, posters and business cards, pasted into old emails or pinned in profiles now lead nowhere.

Most of those links did one simple job: open the App Store on an iPhone, Google Play on Android and a web page everywhere else. That job needs no SDK and no code in your app. Some links did more — opened a particular screen after a fresh install, or fed install attribution — and those need a deep-linking SDK. This page helps you tell the two apart and move the first kind in an afternoon.

Side by side

Feature	Firebase Dynamic Links	SetLinks
Still running	No — shut down 25 August 2025	Yes
iPhone → App Store, Android → Google Play	Yes	Yes
Huawei AppGallery and RuStore	No	Yes
Opens the app when it is installed	Yes, with the SDK	Yes, without an SDK: iPhone on setlinks.io, iPhone and Android on your domain
Your own domain	Yes	Yes, from $9 a month
SDK needed in the app	For in-app links	No
Opens a screen in the app after install (deferred deep link)	Yes	No
Free to start	Was free	3 links, unlimited traffic

Facts about other services as of October 2026, from their public pages: Firebase Dynamic Links FAQ

What it costs

Dynamic Links were free, which is one reason so many apps used them. SetLinks has a free plan with 3 links and unlimited traffic, with no card and no time limit. Paid plans start at $9 a month and are cheaper when paid yearly; your own domain, opening the installed app and the API all come with plans from $9 a month.

If you replace Dynamic Links with a full attribution suite instead, expect pricing by conversions or by quote — worth it when you need attribution, an expensive way to get a store redirect when you do not.

Pick SetLinks if

Your links mostly sent people to the App Store or Google Play, from QR codes, emails, ads or bios.
You do not want to add, update or maintain an SDK in your app just for links.
You need AppGallery or RuStore as well as the two big stores.
You want click and scan statistics by platform, country and source without setting up an analytics pipeline.

Pick Firebase Dynamic Links if

Dynamic Links are gone, so this is about what to replace them with: if a link must open a specific screen right after a fresh install, choose a deep-linking SDK such as those Google lists in its FAQ.
If you need install attribution across ad networks, an attribution platform (MMP) is the right tool, and SetLinks is not one.
If your links only need to open the app for people who already have it, Google also recommends plain Universal Links and App Links — SetLinks can publish those files for you, or you can host them yourself.

What SetLinks does

One short link and QR code per app: iPhone to the App Store, Android to Google Play, Huawei to AppGallery, RuStore for apps not on Google Play or AppGallery, computers to your website and everyone else to your fallback URL.
In-app browsers such as Instagram and TikTok, which often cannot open a store, get a page with an “Open in store” button instead of a dead end.
Click analytics by day, platform, country and source, with CSV export. QR scans count as clicks and are also shown on their own; link-preview bots are not counted at all.
Change destinations at any time — the address and printed QR codes stay the same.
On plans that include them: your own domain (go.yourbrand.com), opening your app when it is installed (iPhone on setlinks.io, iPhone and Android on your domain), campaign tags passed to the stores, teams with roles and a REST API with read and write keys.

What it does not do

There is no SDK, so no deferred deep linking: a link is not carried through the install into a screen inside your app.
It does not attribute installs to ad networks. It passes the campaign to the store, so App Store Connect and Google Play Console show installs per link.

Moving from Firebase Dynamic Links, step by step

Most teams finish this in an afternoon. The order matters: first find out what each old link did, then recreate it.

Export what you had Google lets you export your Dynamic Links metadata (see its FAQ). For each link note the short address and its parameters: apn (Android package), ibi and isi (iOS bundle and App Store ID), ofl or link (the web address).
Sort the links by job Links that only sent people to a store or a web page move as they are. Links whose deep link opened a screen after install need an SDK; keep a list of those for your developers.
Create a SetLinks link for each App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id followed by the isi number. Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id= followed by the apn package. Use the ofl or link address as the fallback. Add AppGallery or RuStore if you publish there.
Bring back a custom domain, if you had one If your Dynamic Links used a subdomain you own (links.yourbrand.com), add it to SetLinks as a custom domain and recreate the same paths — old QR codes and links start working again. Addresses on page.link cannot be moved: that domain belonged to Google. Only paths that fit a SetLinks link address carry over — lowercase letters, digits and hyphens, 3 to 64 characters, no slashes; codes with other paths, such as mixed-case ones, need a reprint.
Open the app for people who have it Turn on open-in-app for the link with your Apple Team ID and bundle ID, and for Android your package name and SHA-256 signing fingerprint. Add the link’s domain to your app’s Associated Domains (iOS) and intent filters (Android) in your next release, then remove the Firebase Dynamic Links SDK.
Swap the links and reprint once Replace the old addresses in your site, emails, ads and bios. Reprint page.link QR codes one last time: from now on you change destinations in SetLinks and the printed code stays the same.
Test on real devices Open the new link on an iPhone, an Android phone and inside Instagram. Our free redirect tester shows where any device will go, and the validator checks your apple-app-site-association and assetlinks.json files.

Questions people ask

Do my old page.link links still work?

No. Google’s FAQ says that since the shutdown on 25 August 2025 every Dynamic Link returns a 404, and page.link domains are not kept. Those addresses cannot be redirected; they have to be replaced.

Can I keep links that used my own domain?

Yes, if the domain is yours. Add the subdomain to SetLinks as a custom domain and recreate each path as a link address (lowercase letters, digits and hyphens, 3 to 64 characters). Printed codes that pointed at that domain then resolve again. Paths with capital letters or slashes cannot be recreated, so codes using them need a reprint.

Do I need to change my app?

Not for store links: they work with no change to the app. Only if you want the link to open the installed app do you add its domain to your app’s Associated Domains and intent filters — and then you can remove the Dynamic Links SDK.

Does SetLinks support deferred deep linking?

No. Without an SDK in the app, nothing can carry a link through the install into a specific screen. If you need that, use a deep-linking SDK; SetLinks covers the links that only need to reach the right store or open the installed app.

Can a link open my app when it is already installed?

Yes, on plans that include open-in-app. On iPhone it works on setlinks.io and on your own domain; on Android it works on your own domain, where SetLinks publishes the assetlinks.json for your app.

How much does it cost to replace Dynamic Links?

You can start free with 3 links and unlimited traffic. Paid plans start at $9 a month, and every price is on the pricing page — there is no sales call.

What happens to my click statistics?

The Dynamic Links Analytics API is shut down with the rest. SetLinks counts clicks and QR scans from day one, by platform, country and source, and you can export them to CSV.

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