How can I check if an app is installed from a web-page on an iPhone
📱 How to Check if an App is Installed from a Web-Page on an iPhone
So, you've got this cool web-page and you want to make it even cooler by detecting if your awesome app is installed on someone's iPhone. And if it's not, you want to redirect them to the App Store to download it. Seems like a piece of cake, right?
Well, hold your horses! It's not as straightforward as you might think, but fear not, my tech-savvy friend, for I'm here to guide you through it. 🤓
The Context
First, let's understand the context here. You've already implemented a custom URL scheme in your iPhone app, which means you have a special URL like myapp:// that opens your app directly (if it's installed). But if the app is not installed and someone tries to open this URL in Safari, they get an error message instead. Ouch! We definitely don't want that. 😬
The Challenge
The challenge is to check if your app is installed on the iPhone and handle the different scenarios gracefully:
If the app is installed ➡️ Open the app.
If the app is not installed ➡️ Redirect them to the App Store to download your app.
The Solution
I'm happy to inform you that there is indeed a solution to this problem. 🎉
Here's what you can do:
Start by checking if the app's custom URL scheme can be opened in JavaScript. This way, we can determine if the app is installed or not.
function isAppInstalled() { window.location.href = 'myapp://'; setTimeout(function() { // Wait for some time before executing this window.location.href = 'https://itunes.apple.com/myapp-link'; // Redirect to App Store }, 200); }Let me break it down for you:
We try to open
myapp://usingwindow.location.hrefand redirect to your app.If the app is not installed, this action will fail, and after a short delay, we redirect the user to the App Store.
Now, let's call this function when the page loads. We'll use the
onloadevent in thebodytag.<body onload="isAppInstalled()"> <!-- Your awesome webpage content goes here --> </body>Here's what's happening:
When the page loads, the
isAppInstalled()function gets triggered.It tries to open your app, and if it fails, it redirects the user to the App Store.
That's it! 🎉 You've successfully implemented the app check and redirection logic.
The Ugly Hack (as you asked for it)
Now, hold on tight, because I'm gonna let you in on an ugly hack. But remember, it's not the recommended approach, and it might not work in future iOS updates. So, consider yourself warned! 😅
If you really want to use JavaScript to check if your app is installed, here's a snippet for you:
function isAppInstalled() {
var iframe = document.createElement('iframe');
iframe.src = 'myapp://';
iframe.style.display = 'none';
document.body.appendChild(iframe);
setTimeout(function() {
document.body.removeChild(iframe);
window.location.href = 'https://itunes.apple.com/myapp-link';
}, 200);
}Once again, let me explain what's happening here:
We create an
iframeelement and set itssrcattribute to your app's custom URL scheme.Then we add this
iframeto the page, which tries to open your app.If the app is installed, it opens successfully (invisible to the user).
If it's not installed, the
iframefails and then we redirect the user to the App Store.
Conclusion
You made it to the end! 🎉 Now you know how to check if your app is installed from a web-page on an iPhone. You've learned two different approaches – one using JavaScript and another one using a more reliable method.
Remember, it's always a best practice to use the first solution I mentioned, as it is less hacky and more reliable. But, if you really need to explore the second approach, proceed with caution, my friend!
Now, it's time for you to put this knowledge into action and make your web-page even cooler! 😎
If you have any questions or other cool tech-related problems you want me to talk about, drop a comment below. Let's geek out together! 💬
