What is the best way to determine if an application has been installed on an Android device while browsing a website?

Let's set the scene:

I've got a website that needs to use JavaScript to determine whether my app is already installed on the android device it's currently being used on.

If the app is installed, the page will display a link (with a custom protocol) to launch the app. If not, it should show a link to the android market.

I have control over the links to the app and market. The only thing left to do is figure out how to detect if the app is present on the device using JavaScript code (or maybe try to catch an error related to unsupported protocols as an indication of the app not existing).

When I

  1. click on a web link with
  2. my custom app protocol and
  3. the app isn't installed on the device yet

I notice that the android environment generates an "unsupported protocol" error. However, I can't seem to capture this error in the JavaScript code to redirect the user to the android market.

I believe both direct detection and error detection are relevant methods if they're possible at all.

Any suggestions on how to achieve this?

Thank you for your assistance.

javascriptandroiddetect

Answer №1

Avoid creating a custom protocol.

Instead, configure your app's <intent-filter> to monitor a familiar URL pattern (e.g., specify the scheme, host, and path). This URL should direct users to the page containing instructions on how to download the app.

Subsequently, when a user clicks on the link with the recognized URL from another source, it will either open your app if it is installed or display your website if not.

Answer №2

I encountered a similar question, but I was able to solve it by following these steps:

var user_agent = navigator.userAgent.toLowerCase();
var is_android = user_agent.indexOf("android") > -1;
if(is_android) { // if the device is running on Android
    // specify app address for local use
    var iframe_source = 'intent://example.com#Intent;scheme=my_scheme;action=android.intent.action.VIEW;end';
    var iframe = document.createElement('iframe');
    iframe.src = iframe_source ;
    iframe.onload = function() { // execute this function if the app is not installed
        window.location = 'http://your.app_download_page.com';
    };
    iframe.style.display = 'none';
    document.body.appendChild(iframe);

    setTimeout(function(){
        document.body.removeChild(iframe); // remove the iframe element after 1 second
    }, 1000);
} else { // if the device is not running on Android
    window.location = 'http://google.com';
}

I hope this solution can be helpful to anyone facing a similar issue.

Answer №3

To incorporate your app's custom protocol, consider embedding an iframe with the src URL set to the desired custom protocol. If the custom protocol is not supported, you have the option to display a fallback webpage. Additionally, you can make the iframe invisible by setting frameborder="0" and adjusting the width and height attributes to 0.

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