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by machello13 1836 days ago
On iOS and macOS (I can't speak to Android but I'm fairly sure it's a similar mechanism), you're required to prove that a domain and app are linked before allowing URLs to open in your app. You do this by hosting a JSON file on your website that points to your app and specifies which kind of URLs should be redirected. E.g. see https://apple.com/.well-known/apple-app-site-association for how Apple.com does it.

This prevents malicious third-parties from opening bank.com in their own app, but of course it also prevents useful things like using a custom YouTube app.