About adaptive links

After you create a pass template, you then generate URLs for the pass (create pass links) that you distribute to your users. When your audience clicks or taps the link, a viewable pass is generated from the template, and the user can then install it on their device.

An adaptive link is a vendor-agnostic, shortened mobile wallet pass link that supports templates for both Google Wallet and Apple Wallet. When a user taps the link, Airship determines the user’s platform and generates the right pass for that platform.

In general, we recommend that you use adaptive links because they make it easier to send and install passes without having to know the platforms of the devices that you’re sending passes to.

You can also take advantage of adaptive links even when supporting a single platform as well; if a user on the unsupported platform attempts to install your pass, you can send the user to a landing page. This applies to adaptive links created via the API only.

Adaptive links also support:

• URL-encoded pass personalization — Add query parameters to the adaptive link to personalize the passes that your users install. This can help you leverage your CRM data to populate passes without performing additional API calls.

• Location detection — Upload locations to your project. Passes your users install from adaptive links will detect the 10 nearest locations and associate them with Apple Wallet passes. (Apple Wallet limits passes to 10 locations each.)

You can create adaptive links using the API or the dashboard. Adaptive links creating using the API cannot be modified in the dashboard. For event tickets and boarding passes, you must use the API.

You can also create pass links using CSV upload, but that method does not generate adaptive links.

Adaptive Link Expiration

By default, adaptive links expire after 6 months if they are unused. After you or a member of your audience uses an adaptive link to generate a pass, the link persists forever.

If you generate passes for an entire audience from a single adaptive link, then generating a test pass will cause the link to persist forever. If you distribute personalized adaptive links to your whole audience, then it’s likely that some adaptive links will expire after six months, as not all users will click or tap their personalized link.

Passes generated from an adaptive link expire based on pass type or values set at the template or pass level.