Does Bitly do deep linking?

Yes, Bitly does deep linking, of one kind: links that open your own mobile app. Bitly's pricing page describes Mobile Deep Links as "Point links to your mobile app and track their performance", and puts mobile deep linking in its Premium plan (checked 26 October 2026). What a Bitly link doesn't do is get fans out of Instagram's or TikTok's built-in browser. If you sell online without an app of your own, that's the part that costs you sales.

what Bitly's deep linking does

Bitly offers two features that decide where a link goes on a phone:

• Mobile deep links, for businesses with their own app. Bitly says these "route users to the right screen in your app, or to the app store if it isn't installed", and it tracks how they perform (Bitly Mobile Links). On the pricing page it's part of Premium.
• Dynamic routing. One link sends people to different places by country or region, by device type (mobile, tablet or desktop), or by iPhone versus Android. Bitly's example: mobile users go to the app store and desktop users to your website (Bitly dynamic routing).

Neither page mentions in-app browsers, or opening a link in the visitor's own browser (checked 26 October 2026).

what happens when a fan taps a Bitly link inside Instagram

A short link is a redirect. When a fan taps your Bitly link inside Instagram, Instagram's browser asks Bitly for the page. Bitly answers with a redirect to your shop, and Instagram's browser follows it. The web's own rules leave that next step to the browser that asked (RFC 9110, section 15.4). So your shop opens inside Instagram, where the fan is signed out and their saved cards aren't there.

Links that open apps don't escape either. Branch's universal links documentation (checked 26 October 2026) lists Instagram, Pinterest and Telegram as apps where universal links "do not work".

check what your short link does, on your own phone

You don't need to take anyone's word for this, ours included. A quick check:

1. Send your Bitly link to yourself, or to a friend, in an Instagram message, or put it in your bio for a moment.
2. Tap it inside Instagram. If the page opens inside Instagram, with Instagram's controls rather than Safari's or Chrome's, you're in the app's browser. How that looks varies by app and version.
3. Go to your shop's account page or checkout. Are you signed in? Does your saved card offer to fill in? Is Apple Pay or Google Pay there?
4. Now open the same link in Safari or Chrome directly and compare.

What you see in step 3 is what your fans see. Do the same in TikTok, and in any app where you share the link, since each one has its own browser. If the two results differ, the difference is the sale your link is losing, whichever tool made it.

a Bitly alternative for ecommerce

If your Instagram and TikTok traffic goes to a Shopify store, a Stripe checkout or a booking page, the app's browser is where sales slip. Customers are signed out, their saved cards don't fill in, and Apple Pay may be missing. A shorter link doesn't change any of that. A way out of the app's browser does.

• Does Apple Pay work in Instagram's in-app browser?
• Shopify's Apple Pay button missing inside Instagram's browser
• Why Instagram and TikTok links lose sales

On Pro, linkboo's deeplinking shows fans the way out of the app's browser. Depending on the app, their own browser opens by itself, or they press and hold one button to open it. Your linkboo page then opens in their own browser, where they're signed in to the sites they use and their saved cards fill in. Apple Pay and Google Pay are there too, where the checkout offers them. From there they tap your shop link. The full reason this matters is in why fans are logged out after tapping a link.

Bitly vs linkboo, side by side

Bitly's column is from its pricing page and its link-in-bio page, checked 26 October 2026. Prices change, so none are listed; linkboo's are on pricing.

where Bitly is the better pick

• QR codes, print and texts. Bitly makes QR codes on every plan and short links for SMS. linkboo doesn't make QR codes.
• Your own short domain, today. Bitly includes a custom domain from its Growth plan. linkboo's own domains are coming soon.
• Many campaign links. Bitly's plans come with monthly link allowances and, from Growth, bulk link creation.
• You have an app. Bitly's mobile deep links point at it. linkboo doesn't open your own app.
• Routing by country or device. Bitly's dynamic routing does it per link.

where linkboo is the better pick

• Your fans tap in Instagram or TikTok and need to sign in or pay. That's the job the way out does, on Pro.
• You want one bio link for everything, with analytics on every plan: page views, clicks on each link, countries, devices and where page views came from.
• You want to count each app you share in. Pro gives you a bio link for each app, with each one's taps counted on its own.

can you use both?

Yes, and many businesses should. Keep Bitly for QR codes, texts and print. Put your link.boo address in your Instagram and TikTok bios as it is. Bitly links can sit on your linkboo page as ordinary links: when a fan taps one from their own browser, the redirect opens there too.

One catch: UTM tags added to the link.boo address itself aren't kept. Put UTMs on the destination links on your page, where they pass through unchanged, or use a Pro bio link for each app. UTM parameters on Instagram and TikTok links explains the rest.

Claim your link →

related reading

• Branch.io alternatives for a small business, if you're weighing app links.
• What a Bouncy link is, and Bouncy vs linkboo.
• What is deep linking?