How do Branch links handle redirecting users into the App Store or Google Play store?

Best practice is to find the app via the Google Play/App Store search functionality, as this provides us with all the info needed to identify the specific app that should be used for redirection. This includes the package name for Android and the App Store ID for iOS.

This is generally a better experience than using an HTTPS URL to redirect users to the page in the app store--while this can still open the app, it risks opening the page in a browser instead of opening the App Store or Google Play app. With the package name or App Store ID, Branch links can automatically open the appropriate store app and page using the market:// URI scheme, along with the package name or the itms-app:// URI, with no risk of this opening in the browser.

While there are other identifiers (such as a deep link URI scheme) that can be used to identify apps, these aren't necessarily unique to a single app in the App Store or Google Play store, so these aren't factored in when routing users who don't have the app, as the information mentioned above will ensure we're routing them to the right place.

In absence of the above information (i.e. if no package name or App Store ID can be provided), a direct URL can be used, and we'll redirect a user normally in-browser for cases like these.