opening application from the sms/email link

Question

Let us suppose if I send any message (recommendation) from my mobile to a friends phone who clicks on the link to install application(which is run on my friend's device).

I couldn't get the right ideas to do that.

Can anybody help me?

Answer 1

You can create a custom scheme (i.e. a special type of 'link'). If you send such a link via SMS and user clicks on it, then a registered app will be started.

Edited to provide example:

<intent-filter>
    <action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW"/> 
    <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT"/>
    <data android:scheme="http" android:host="com.yourhostname"/>
</intent-filter>

Where you change com.yourhostname for your site hostname. So of you send some url in SMS that contains this hostname, e.g. 'http://www.yourhostname.com/some-generated-path', then if user has you app installed this link will be opened by the app, but if not then link will be opened in browser still giving you opportunity to show the content to this user.