Applinking: Google play Console Domain Ownership not verified

Question

I am working on my applinking, and everything works fine on Android version 11, but doesn't work on version 12 or above!

Btw, I am using Firebase Hosting for my Website!

And lately, I've found that my domain ownership is not verified on Google Play Console (GPC). I did copy all the codes from GPC -> Setup -> App Signing and configure them into my website assetlinks.json. Yet, my app isn't getting verified, I did everything I could, but still, the issue remains unmoved.

1. public/.well-known/assetlinks.json

[
  {
    "relation": ["delegate_permission/common.handle_all_urls"],
    "target" : { 
      "namespace": "android_app", 
      "package_name": "com.(myDomain).(myapp)",      
      "sha256_cert_fingerprints": ["EE:C6:DF..."] 
    }
  },
  {
    "relation": ["delegate_permission/common.handle_all_urls"],
    "target" : { 
      "namespace": "android_app", 
      "package_name": "com.(mydomain).(myApp)",      
      "sha256_cert_fingerprints": ["A9:11:AA..."] 
    }
  }
]

2. My Android Manifest

<intent-filter android:autoVerify="true" tools:targetApi="m">
  <action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW" />
  <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
  <category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE" />
  <data android:scheme="https" android:host="(myDomain).com" android:pathPrefix="/view/"/>
</intent-filter>

My Website Firebase.json file:

{
  "hosting": {
    "public": "public",
    "ignore": [
      "firebase.json",
      "**/.*",
      "**/node_modules/**"
    ]
  }
}

Though my codes seem perfect, yet, I'm not sure if I'm missing something, but I'm definitely getting issues: My domain ownership not getting verified.

Answer 1

Following the "Verify Android App Links", make sure your assetlinks.json file is correctly formatted and accessible via HTTPS without any redirection. The file needs to be at https://<your-domain>/.well-known/assetlinks.json. You mentioned that your domain is served through Firebase Hosting, so make sure the Firebase Hosting configuration does not block access to the .well-known directory.

+--------------------+       +-------------------------+        +----------------------+
| Google Play Console|  ---> | Firebase Hosting        |  --->  | Android App          |
| (Domain ownership) |       | (assetlinks.json)       |        | (Intent-filter setup)|
+--------------------+       +-------------------------+        +----------------------+

Your firebase.json could be:

{
  "hosting": {
    "public": "public",
    "ignore": [
      "firebase.json",
      "**/.*",
      "**/node_modules/**"
    ],
    "rewrites": [
      {
        "source": "/.well-known/assetlinks.json",
        "destination": "/public/.well-known/assetlinks.json"
      }
    ]
  }
}

That rewrite rule makes sure requests to .well-known/assetlinks.json are served from the correct location.

The intent-filter setup should include a domain that should match exactly what is specified in your assetlinks.json and it is targeted correctly in your Android app.

<intent-filter android:autoVerify="true">
  <action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW" />
  <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
  <category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE" />
  <data android:scheme="https" android:host="example.com" android:pathPrefix="/view/"/>
</intent-filter>

Make sure you have followed all the steps required by Google Play Console to verify domain ownership. That typically involves adding a DNS record or uploading a specific file to your hosting.