Firebase Dynamic Links is gone. What replaces it depends on what you used it for.
Google shut Dynamic Links down on 25 August 2025, and clicked links now return a 404. Most of the advice since has been vendors calling themselves drop-in replacements. Here is the honest version, including where we are not the answer.
Dynamic Links did three separate jobs.
Almost everyone used one of them. The confusion since the shutdown comes from vendors answering as though everyone used all three, so the first thing to work out is which one you actually depended on.
Routing to the right store
One published link, and each visitor lands on the correct store listing for the device in their hand. This is what most teams used Dynamic Links for, and it is the one we replace.
Deferred deep linking
A new user taps a link, installs the app, and opens on specific in-app content rather than the home screen. Genuinely useful, genuinely harder, and we do not do it.
Install attribution
Knowing which campaign produced which install. That is measurement rather than routing, and it belongs with a mobile measurement platform.
If you needed 02 or 03, look at Branch, AppsFlyer or Adjust. They are built for it and we are not. We would rather say so on this page than after you have subscribed to something that does not do what you assumed.
One link, five platforms, nothing to integrate.
Most replacements route to two stores, because most products ship to two stores. If yours does not, that gap is the entire reason to read further.
Five platforms, not two
iOS, Android, macOS, Windows and Amazon Fire, resolved from a single published link. Desktop builds and Fire tablets are where most alternatives quietly stop.
No SDK, no script
1Link® works at the link layer. There is nothing to embed in the app and nothing to add to the website, so switching changes nothing about your codebase, your release cycle or your attack surface.
A QR code on every link
Free on every link and every plan, and dynamic — repoint it after printing without reprinting anything. If Dynamic Links was behind a printed code, this is the last reissue you should ever need.
Run from the phone
Links, QR codes and live scan data all sit in the app rather than a browser dashboard. Plans are priced by how many links you activate each month, not by seats.
What to do, in order.
Find where the old links live
App store listings, email footers, social profiles, ad creative, printed material, partner sites, QR codes on packaging. The ones that hurt are the ones nobody remembers publishing.
Decide which job you need
Routing, deep linking or attribution. Getting this wrong is how teams end up paying enterprise measurement prices for what was really a redirect.
Publish on a domain you control
The lesson of the shutdown is that a link on somebody else’s domain can be withdrawn. Whatever you choose, use a custom domain so the next migration is yours to schedule.
Replace the printed ones last
Anything printed is the slowest to fix and the most expensive to get wrong. Move it to a dynamic code so this is the final time it has to be reprinted.
Dead links do not announce themselves. A Dynamic Link on an old carton or a partner page is still being tapped today, and it is still returning a 404 to someone who wanted your app.
Straight answers.
When did Firebase Dynamic Links shut down?
Firebase Dynamic Links shut down on 25 August 2025. Google has confirmed that links clicked after that date return an HTTP 404, and that domain and link metadata were marked for deletion on the same date. There is no recovery path for the old links themselves – whatever they pointed at needs republishing on a domain you control.
Can 1Link replace Firebase Dynamic Links?
Only for one of the three things FDL did, and it is worth being precise about which. If you used Dynamic Links so that a single published link sent each visitor to the right app store for their device, 1Link does that and does it across five platforms. If you relied on deferred deep linking or install attribution, 1Link is not a replacement and you should use a mobile measurement platform instead.
Does 1Link do deferred deep linking?
No. Deferred deep linking means a new user taps a link, installs the app, and lands on specific in-app content rather than the home screen. 1Link does not do this. If that behaviour matters to your product, look at Branch, AppsFlyer or Adjust, which are built for it. We would rather tell you that here than after you have subscribed.
What if I used Firebase Dynamic Links for install attribution?
That is measurement rather than routing, and it belongs with a mobile measurement partner. 1Link reports scans, clicks and engagement on the links themselves, by device, platform and location, but it does not attribute installs to campaigns. The two jobs are often bundled together by the same vendor, which is part of why the FDL shutdown has been confusing.
Which platforms does 1Link route to?
iOS, Android, macOS, Windows and Amazon Fire. Most alternatives route to two stores. If your product ships on desktop or on Fire tablets as well as phones, that difference is the whole reason to look at this rather than a straight shortener.
How long does it take to switch?
Not long, because there is nothing to integrate. 1Link works at the link layer: there is no SDK to embed in your app and no script to add to your website, so adopting it changes nothing about your codebase or your release cycle. You subscribe in the App Store or Google Play, create the links in the app, and republish them wherever the old ones appeared.
Do I have to reprint anything?
Only if your old codes were static. Every 1Link QR code is dynamic, so once a code is printed you can repoint it without reprinting. Moving off Firebase Dynamic Links is a good moment to make that switch, because it is the last time you will have to reissue a printed code because a platform was discontinued.
If routing is what you need, this is a short conversation.
Tell us where your links are published and which platforms your product ships on. If deferred deep linking turns out to be what you actually need, we will say so and point you at the right category.