"com.android.vending.INSTALL_REFERRER" somehow parameters are lost and changed to (not%20set)

Question

I have a problem with INSTALL_REFERRER broadcast in my app.

I'm trying to create some information about campaign etc, but on most devices my url "https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.test.apptest&referrer=utm_source%3Dmy_test_source"

EDIT: the same thing happens with link "market://details?id=com.test.apptest&referrer=utm_source%3Dmy_test_source"

is change to something like

"utm_source=(not%20set)&utm_medium=(not%20set)"

I don't know what is the reason for such a behaviour of google play store app but maybe someone has deal with that ?

EDIT 2: It looks like that it has something to do with google play store app version. on version 12.5.15-all everything works fine and as expected, on devices with version 12.5.30 comes only (not set)

EDIT 3: answering comment from Harry, I have only a email from google developers support. For now I replaced referred link with firebase dynamic links which works ( but not utm_source, need to do your custom link)

regards Wojtek

google play devs team knows now about that issue, they are "working on it" .... — wojciech_maciejewski, Dec 12 '18 at 10:32
Hi Harry, I don't have a link for justify it , I've just created a ticket through email, check edited answer — wojciech_maciejewski, Dec 14 '18 at 11:11
only reason that I have found is the same as @najm answer. Google responded to me that it is an intended behaviour and they will not change it. So we will need to face the fact that on managed google acount refferalls will not work :( — wojciech_maciejewski, Jul 25 '19 at 14:03
No, there is no option to pass referrer link to GSuit account. On normal gmail accounts it will work perfectly. In my case I used firebase dynamic links for handling cases for both GSuit and normal accounts — wojciech_maciejewski, Feb 14 '20 at 11:59
Hi, did you find any solutions? I have same issue, but i couldn't find anything. — Ensar Bayhan, May 15 '21 at 12:30
@Ensar Bayhan No, It just don't work for managed google accounts, and google is not going to change that — wojciech_maciejewski, May 17 '21 at 07:52
Please check this answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/65475325/5257674 This helped me resolve my issue. — Waqas Ahmed, Dec 06 '21 at 07:58

score 12 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 21 '19 at 02:20

12

You're most likely logged into a managed account (e.g. a work email). It doesn't matter if you have your personal account active in Play Store. The Play Store consistently checks all accounts that you're signed into on that phone. If any of them are managed by an enterprise then the Play Store resets the referrer token. You can verify this by removing said account and retry sending the token.

I can't speak to why this is the intended behavior but perhaps someone from Google can shine some light.

answered Jul 21 '19 at 02:20

najm

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thats totally true, but it does not solve the problem. Google claims that it is how it should work, don't know why – wojciech_maciejewski Jul 24 '19 at 09:00
This is an interesting scenario. I have a slightly different need though. I am passing some params to my app via playstore, and was using utm_source to do the same. Is there any other way to do this, if I can't use referrer params since Playstore is resetting them (a lot of my users will be logged in via their work emails)? Thoughts please? – Rohitesh Sep 24 '20 at 17:42

score -3 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 26 '19 at 11:36

-3

I had a similar problem, but finally, I figured it out. Google play install referrer is per google play account. It means that if for the first time you installed an app without any referrer, you would receive "utm_source=(not%20set)&utm_medium=(not%20set)". It does not change if you uninstall and install again or you install for the first time in another device with the same google account.

The way to fix is to logout from google play, uninstall the application, login to the play store with another account, and install your application with the referrer.

answered Feb 26 '19 at 11:36

daaniaal

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Not necessary to use a new account. Uninstalling is enough. – Yingbo Miao Apr 26 '19 at 14:51
I am trying to test, referrers did not change in each uninstall – rekiem87 Mar 13 '20 at 18:05
Actually, the referrer does reset on each reinstall – mohammad zarei matin Apr 14 '20 at 07:27

"com.android.vending.INSTALL_REFERRER" somehow parameters are lost and changed to (not%20set)

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