Firebase Dynamic Links Alternative

Firebase Dynamic Links (FDL) shut down on August 25, 2025 — links on custom domains and page.link now return a 404.[^1] If you used FDL for short and branded links, CodeQR is a direct replacement: dynamic short links that don't sunset, with custom domains and analytics. If you relied on FDL's deep linking into your own app, the honest answer is that the right replacement depends on the job — and this guide splits it out so you migrate to the correct tool, not the loudest one.

What happened to Firebase Dynamic Links

Google deprecated Firebase Dynamic Links and turned the service off on August 25, 2025. From that date, every link FDL served — whether on a page.link subdomain or your own custom domain — stops resolving and returns an HTTP 404 to anyone who clicks it.[^1] New links can no longer be created either. That means any printed material, app store listing, email, or social post pointing at an FDL link is now a dead end unless you migrated it.

What you actually used FDL for

FDL bundled three different jobs under one product, and they have different replacements:

1. Short and branded links — a page.link or custom-domain URL that redirects to a destination.
2. Deep linking into an installed app — opening your app on the right screen when the user already has it.
3. Deferred deep linking with attribution — sending a new user through the app store and, after they install, dropping them on the right screen while attributing the install.

The mistake to avoid during migration is treating these as one thing. A link shortener replaces (1) cleanly, but it cannot do (3) — that needs code inside your app.

How to pick a replacement, by use case

• Short and branded dynamic links + analytics → CodeQR. This is the FDL job CodeQR replaces directly: dynamic short links with custom domains, click analytics, UTM tags, and a QR code for every link.
• Open an installed app → App Links (Android) and Universal Links (iOS). These are the native, platform-supported ways to deep-link into an app you own; Google itself points migrating developers to them.[^1]
• Deferred deep linking with install attribution → a mobile attribution SDK. This needs a vendor whose SDK lives in your app — Branch, Adjust, AppsFlyer, Kochava, Singular and similar — which is exactly the list Google names in its own FDL shutdown guidance.[^1] CodeQR does not do deferred deep linking or install attribution, and pretending otherwise would set you up to fail; use it for the short-link half and pair it with one of those SDKs if you need the rest.

CodeQR vs Firebase Dynamic Links (for short links)

How to migrate your short links to CodeQR

1. Export your FDL links and destinations from the Firebase console before the data goes away.
2. Recreate the active links as dynamic short links in CodeQR, pointing at the same destinations, and confirm each redirect resolves.
3. Add UTM tags with the UTM builder so campaign data keeps flowing, and review plans on the CodeQR pricing page.
4. Update app code and redirects. If you need in-app deep linking, wire up App Links / Universal Links; if you need deferred deep linking, add an attribution SDK. Point everything at the new URLs before any old FDL link is relied on again.

Migrating the short-link half is the fast part — start there, then decide whether you also need an attribution SDK for the deep-linking half.

[^1]: Firebase Dynamic Links shuts down on August 25, 2025; after that, links on custom domains and page.link return HTTP 404, and Google points migrating developers to App Links / Universal Links and to attribution vendors (Adjust, AppsFlyer, Branch, Kochava, Singular). Google (Firebase), https://firebase.google.com/support/dynamic-links-faq (verified 2026-07-15). [^2]: CodeQR pricing and free-tier terms. CodeQR, https://codeqr.io/pricing (verified 2026-07-15).