What is the shortest valid App Store link?

https://apps.apple.com/app/id123456789. The country code and the app name slug are both optional.

Should I include the country code in App Store links?

Usually not. Without it, Apple sends each visitor to their own storefront, which is what you want for international traffic.

App Store link formats

Q: What is the difference between itms-appss and https store links?

itms-appss:// is the custom scheme Apple redirects https store URLs to, and it opens the native App Store. In-app browsers cannot follow it.

A reference for the parts of an App Store URL, since most of them are optional and a few change behaviour.

6 August 2026 by PAD team

The canonical form

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/example-app/id123456789

Part	Required	Notes
`/us/`	no	country code, omit to use the visitor's store
`example-app`	no	cosmetic slug, ignored by Apple
`id123456789`	yes	the only part that identifies the app

The shortest working form is https://apps.apple.com/app/id123456789. Dropping the country code is usually right for international audiences, since Apple sends visitors to their own storefront.

Useful parameters

Parameter	Effect
`?ct=name`	campaign token reported in App Store Connect
`?pt=id`	provider token identifying you
`?mt=8`	media type, apps, largely vestigial
`?action=write-review`	opens the review sheet directly

The review one is worth knowing: linking to it from inside your app is the polite way to ask, and it skips a step for the user.

Schemes

itms-appss:// is what Apple redirects https store URLs to, and it opens the native App Store. itms-apps:// is the older form. Neither can be followed by an in-app browser, which is the root of the blank page problem.

Other Apple domains

apps.apple.com is current
itunes.apple.com is legacy and still redirects
appstore.com/name is a vanity form that resolves to the listing
testflight.apple.com is for builds, not for public links

Google Play, for comparison

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.example.app
  &referrer=utm_source%3Dinstagram

Play uses a package name rather than a numeric identifier, and its attribution parameter is a single encoded query string rather than two flat values.

We build the final URL correctly per platform, including the parameters that matter.

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