Deep link open events
A deep-link open event records that a user entered the app via a deep link — a URL that routes to a specific in-app screen rather than the home screen. Combined with campaign details it attributes app entries to the link that drove them. In the Firebase/GA4 model this relates to dynamic-link and campaign-details collection. It answers where an app session began and which campaign or context sent the user there.
What a deep-link open means
A deep link points past the app's entry screen to a specific destination — a product, an article, a settings page. When the app handles it, analytics can record the entry and the link's campaign parameters. This is the app counterpart to a campaign URL on the web: it tells you both that the app opened and the routed context it opened into.
Attribution and routing
Because a deep link carries destination and (often) campaign context, its open event supports attribution: which links and campaigns drive in-app entries, and whether users land where intended. If opens cluster on a fallback screen, the routing or link build is wrong. Keep the link payload to routing and campaign fields and never overload it with identifiers — it is configuration, not identity.
- Routes past the entry screen to a specific destination
- Open event can carry campaign context for attribution
- Web counterpart is a campaign URL with UTM parameters
How it appears in analytics and logs
Deep-link opens landing on the wrong screen, or missing campaign context, point to routing or link-configuration problems, not analytics faults.
Diagnostic use case
Attribute app entries to the deep link that produced them — and the campaign behind it — so you can see which links route users to the intended screen.
What WebmasterID can help detect
WebmasterID handles first-party web campaign links; deep-link opens are the app-side analogue, included so the events reference spans both surfaces.
Common mistakes
- Putting personal data into deep-link parameters.
- Ignoring fallback-screen opens that signal broken routing.
- Failing to capture campaign context on the open.
Privacy and accuracy notes
Deep-link parameters should carry routing and campaign context, never personal data. Treat the link payload as configuration, not a place for identifiers.
Related pages
- Dynamic link and campaign_details events
Dynamic-link and campaign_details events attribute app sessions to the campaign that drove them. When a user opens the app via a tracked deep link, GA4/Firebase records campaign attribution parameters (source, medium, campaign) on a campaign_details event. This is how app installs and re-engagements get tied to a marketing source — using campaign metadata, never anything that identifies the individual user.
- Push notification open events
A push-notification open event (notification_open in the Firebase/GA4 model) records that a user tapped a push notification to enter the app, as opposed to merely receiving it. It is the re-engagement counterpart to notification receipt: receipt means delivered, open means acted on. As an automatically collected event for messaging-enabled apps, it lets you measure whether push campaigns actually bring users back.
- The app_open event
app_open is a GA4 event collected automatically by the Firebase/GA4 SDK when a user opens an app or brings it to the foreground after it was in the background. It marks app launches and returns, underpinning app engagement, retention, and session analysis — but a foreground event is not the same as meaningful use.
- Campaign links (docs)
The web analogue: campaign-tagged URLs.
Sources and verification notes
- Google Analytics Help — Automatically collected eventsdynamic_link_app_open and campaign_details context.
Last reviewed 2026-06-24. Facts are checked against primary/official sources where available; uncertain specifics are marked “Data not yet verified” rather than guessed.