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Clipboard deferred deep linking copies the deep link and attribution data to the clipboard when a user clicks a tracking link. When the user opens the app for the first time, the Airbridge SDK reads this data so that Airbridge can deep link the user and attribute the install with the deterministic approach. As a result, deferred deep linking works and installs are attributed accurately even where the probabilistic approach cannot be used.
AttentionClipboard deferred deep linking shows users prompts during the process. This can degrade the user experience and lower conversion rates. Review how clipboard deferred deep linking works and choose carefully which campaigns to use it with.

Before you begin

To use clipboard deferred deep linking, set up the following.

How clipboard deferred deep linking works

  1. When a user clicks a tracking link or a call-to-action (CTA) button on a web landing page that uses clipboard deferred deep linking, the following prompt appears on the Airpage.
Copy page details and continue in the app?
[Cancel] [Continue]
AttentionIf the user taps Cancel, they stay on the Airpage and are not sent to the app store or the app.
  1. When the user taps Continue, Airbridge copies the deep link and attribution data to the clipboard and sends the user to the app store.
  2. When the user installs and opens the app for the first time, the Airbridge SDK reads the data from the clipboard and sends the user to the deep link. Airbridge then attributes the install.
NoteThe Airbridge SDK reads the clipboard only when the app is opened for the first time. The SDK cannot read the clipboard data in the following cases:
  • The user copies something else after clicking the tracking link and before opening the app for the first time.
  • On iOS 16 and later, the user declines the paste permission request.
You can also use clipboard deferred deep linking with tracking links that have no deep link. In this case, Airbridge copies only the attribution data to the clipboard, and the user lands on the app’s default screen. Add the ab_cb_link=1 parameter when you create a tracking link.
  1. Go to [Tracking Link]>[Link Generation] in the Airbridge dashboard and create a tracking link.
  2. Add the parameter to the end of the tracking link. If the link has no question mark (?), add ?ab_cb_link=1. If it has one, add &ab_cb_link=1.

View clipboard deferred deep linking performance

To view performance attributed through the clipboard, go to [Reports]>[Actuals Report] in the Airbridge dashboard and set up the report as follows:
  • GroupBy: Touchpoint Identity Matching Type
  • Filter: Touchpoint Identity Matching Type is clipboard

Things to note about clipboard deferred deep linking

Attribution priority: Identifying users through the clipboard uses the deterministic approach, so it takes priority over the probabilistic approach. If another deterministic method, such as device ID matching, also identifies the user, that method takes priority. For details, see Attribution Methods.