What are ‘deep links’ and how do they work on different devices?

A ‘deep link’ is a type of link that sends you to a particular web page, or a page in an app, when you click it. 

Instead of arriving on the homepage when you use a link, a deep link takes you straight to a specific page of that website or app. We may include deep links in the emails we send you, and they work differently across devices. You can check how they work on yours, below:

iOS or ‘Apple’ devices

If your device is iOS and you read your emails in the Gmail app, you’ll need to set a default browser to open deep links:

Go to ‘Settings’ on your device and scroll down until you see one of your installed browser apps. Select the browser > ‘Default browser app’ > confirm your choice from the list.

• With Safari, deep links take you directly to a page in one click.

• Deep links you open with Chrome, Edge or Firefox, will take you to another page first, asking you to confirm if you’d like to continue with the app or in a browser.

Android devices

If your device is an Android, you can choose Chrome, Edge or Firefox as a default browser – any of these will take you directly to the deep-linked page, when you click on a deep link.

To set a default browser:

Go to ‘Settings’ > ‘Apps’ > ‘General’ > ‘Default apps’ or ‘Choose default apps’ > ‘Browser app’ > select the one you want to use. 

If you have any questions about using deep links, tap ‘Support’ in the app and let us know your device and browser type. We’ll look into your query and help you.