DEV Community: Narendra T

I am Narendra, and I am an addict. Claude-addict

Narendra T — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 20:10:55 +0000

There is this fascinating new drug, that I got hooked to.

'Claude-Code' (I prefer to call it Claude-Coke or Claude-mphetamine)

Fascinating because, it is one of those substances, that you don't even realize when you got addicted to it.
You only realize it, 'after' you are thoroughly hooked to it.

Fascinating also because, once consumed, It increases my 'capabilities' by 2X atleast.

And people also claim, that it has the potential to increase your capabilities by 100x even.

Once you are 'high' it feels magical.

You can magically 'create' stuff just by speaking.

Literally: Abracadabra: I create as I speak.

You feel extremely powerful, sometimes with a confidence that you can end world-poverty.

There will be universal high income (not merely basic income). Everyone will have the best medical care, food, home, transport and everything else. Sustainable abundance — Elon Musk

Given enough tokens, you can improve anything.

No human in the loop. Just a clean, ruthless self-improving loop — AutoResearch by Andrej Karpathy

But access to this amazing 'substance', like other substances is controlled via a few dealers.

And This time, The dealers & manufacturers are extremely smart.
The distribution network is well laid out.
Easy access, on click of a few buttons.
No looking over the shoulder to get your stuff.

This one, even provides a subscription. You could subscribe to a plan based on your 'pocket' or 'urges'
The dosage too is precisely calculated and delivered to you.

And like all other existing addictive 'substances', the effect of this one wear off too, after some time.

In my case, it wears off roughly in 5-hours.
Good thing is, right at the end of the 5th hour, a fresh 'dosage' is ready for me to consume.
I get to feel 'super-powerful' again.
Sometimes, the dosage lasts a lot less than 5-hours. (Say one hour only)
You know, that The next drop will at the end of the 5th hour.

But you now have 4 hours to be a mere 'mortal' before getting to feel the 'rush' again

It is usualy at this point, you first realize, That you are now 'addicted'

You want to give in to your urges, and order a fresh batch right away.
You don't want to be at your 'normal capability' now.
You suddenly start looking down on what used to be 'normal'.

You like the 'high', you relate yourself with the 'rush'.
And like most addicts, you give in to the 'urges'. And you end up ordering more.

Or even 'better' you subscribe to a higher plan. Where you get enough 'stuff' to last much more than 5-hours.

You can never be your old normal now.
This is the new normal.
Only this time, it is not entirely in your control.
The dealers are in control.

And in exchange, you not just give them your money and your control,
you also give them a lot more 'personal data', 'professional data'.

Data which they utilize to make the drug more potent.
This data makes the drug so potent, that it gives you the 2x-10x 'capabilities'.

And the same data makes it so potent, that you don't realize when you are into 'substance abuse'.
Rather you are never into substance abuse.
You are just consuming it daily, hourly. And can't function without it.

Like other addictive substances, this one also has potential to ruin your career.
But this one also has potential to ruin the careers of those who don't subscribe to it.

At some point, your bosses will make sure you get hooked into it.

The speed at which this is growing is ridiculous.
So fast, that this time, am not sure where everything is headed.

The first step of de-addiction is Realizing that you are, in fact, the addict.

I am Narendra, and I am an addict.

What about you?

Firebase Dynamic Links Alternatives 2026: Top 7 and Why ChottuLink Wins

Narendra T — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 09:50:12 +0000

Google’s shutdown of Firebase Dynamic Links in August 2025 left millions of developers scrambling for replacements.

Today, most teams migrating from Firebase face a false choice: expensive mobile measurement platforms (MMPs) bundling deep linking as a secondary feature, or finding a dedicated deep linking solution that prioritizes simplicity and transparent pricing.

Most alternatives aren’t actually alternatives, they are expensive mobile measurement platforms also providing deep linking solutions.

The distinction matters.

Most enterprises don’t need sophisticated attribution suites with multi-touch modeling, fraud detection across ad networks, and complex data warehousing.

What they need is simple, reliable, deferred deep linking that works.

That is where the market has a gap

and

this is where ChottuLink shines.

The MMP Problem: Why Expensive Deep Linking Platforms Are Overkill for Most Teams

When Firebase Dynamic Links shut down, developers had one obvious set of options: mobile measurement partners (MMPs). Companies like Branch.io, AppsFlyer, and Adjust have been around for years.

They offer everything: attribution, analytics, fraud prevention, real-time cohort analysis, and yes, deep linking as a side feature.

But here’s what actually happens when enterprises adopt MMPs for just deep linking needs:

They end up buying a $15,000-$100,000 annual platform to get a $100-$500 feature.

An MMP’s pricing is built on complexity.

You are paying for probabilistic attribution models, fingerprinting, cross-device tracking, revenue attribution windows, fraud protection, and integration with dozens of ad networks.

These tools are optimized for performance marketers running campaigns across Facebook, Google, Apple, and TikTok, trying to answer questions like “which ad network drove the highest lifetime value?”

Most businesses using deep links aren’t those performance marketers.

They are e-commerce apps redirecting users to product pages.

They are social platforms sharing content.

They are fitness apps sending referral links.

They need deferred deep linking to work reliably.

That is it.

Instead, they get billed like they need everything.

The Competitors: What You are Actually Paying For

If you are evaluating Firebase replacements, here’s what you need to know about each major deep linking alternative:

1. Branch.io

Branch’s pricing model is deliberately opaque.

There is no public pricing page.

You contact sales, and what you discover depends on your use case.

For small teams, Branch’s free tier used to exist.

Now?

The Growth Plan starts around $500-$1,000 per month minimum and scales dramatically from there.

Enterprise customers often see contracts in the $100,000-$500,000 annual range.

The real cost? Unpredictable. And that unpredictability is exactly what enterprises hate.

(Read about Comparison with chottulink)

2. AppsFlyer

AppsFlyer’s Zero Plan is genuinely free, for the first 12,000 lifetime installs.

After that, the Growth Plan charges $0.07 per install (with volume discounts), and pricing becomes murky.

AppsFlyer bundles deep linking (OneLink) into their attribution platform. You can’t buy just deep linking.

You are forced to buy the whole suite, even if you only need the link routing. (Read detailed comparison)

3. Adjust

Adjust’s pricing is the classic SaaS obfuscation play. Base plan is free for 1,500 attributions.

Beyond that? Everything is “custom”, which means you are in a negotiation, not a transaction.

Their new TrueLink deep linking solution? Also custom pricing.

To find out what it costs, you have to book a sales call.

This friction is expensive in terms of time and uncertainty.

4. Airbridge

What it is: A dedicated deep linking product from Airbridge (an MMP), with deep links and tracking/analytics included.

Pros:

Reliable deferred deep linking + QR codes
Real-time link performance analytics

Cons:

Less transparent long-term cost — pay-as-you-grow model can surprise scaling apps
Still part of an MMP ecosystem — includes attribution you may not need, with dashboards that can feel bloated for pure linking use cases
Potential overkill & complexity — setup involves more steps than a standalone deep linking tool

(Read a detailed comparison with chottulink)

5. Singular

What it is: A unified marketing analytics and attribution platform with deep linking capabilities.

Pros:

Strong analytics and ROI measurement
Good cross-platform support
Solid enterprise features

Cons:

Part of a larger suite — Deep linking is a secondary feature
Unclear pricing — Requires sales conversation
Integration complexity — Designed for teams needing the full analytics suite

Best for: Marketing-driven organizations focused on campaign ROI across channels. (Read More)

6. Kochava

What it is: An attribution and analytics platform with deep linking support.

Pros:

Strong privacy compliance features
Good SmartLinks technology
Solid for omnichannel attribution

Cons:

Bundled approach — Deep linking comes with attribution
Complex for simple use cases — Overkill if you just need links
Sales-driven pricing — Hard to budget without conversations

Best for: Privacy-conscious enterprises needing both attribution and linking.

The ChottuLink Difference: Why Transparent Deep Linking Pricing Beats MMPs

Instead of bundling deep linking into an attribution suite, ChottuLink builds an entire platform around deep linking and nothing else.

Why ChottuLink Wins

Enterprise-Grade Deep Linking Without Attribution Bloat

When you focus on one thing, you get really good at it. ChottuLink’s architecture is optimized for what it does:

Price transparency — With chottulink, you know exactly what you are paying. Branch, AppsFlyer, and Adjust hide pricing behind sales calls and custom contracts.
No forced bundle — You are not being forced to pay for attribution, fraud prevention, and data warehousing features you don’t need. You are paying for deep linking. Period.
Enterprise grade reliability — 99.9% uptime, <100ms latency, 24/7 support, and role-based access make ChottuLink legitimate infrastructure, not just a feature add-on.
Firebase familiarity — Drop-in replacement. No new deep linking

paradigms to learn.
Developer-first ethos — From the generous free tier to transparent deep linking pricing, to lightweight SDKs, ChottuLink is built for developers, not for extracting maximum revenue per user.

ChottuLink’s pricing is based entirely on monthly active users (MAU).

No surprises when you scale.

No hidden attribution fees.

When your app grows from 100K to 1M MAUs, your bill reflects that directly.

Pricing Transparency Comparison

ChottuLink charges $0/month to start: forever-free-plan.

No credit card required.

No hidden tiers.

The generous free tier is specifically designed for indie developers who are building the next unicorn in their dorm room and don’t want surprise bills when they break 10K users.

That free tier isn’t a lead generation hack. It’s a philosophy: great developers deserve great tools without gatekeeping.

ChottuLink’s Enterprise Foundation: 99.9% Uptime Deep Linking Infrastructure

While ChottuLink earned its reputation among indie developers for accessibility, the platform powers some of the most demanding apps in the market. Enterprise apps with millions of downloads depend on ChottuLink for mission-critical deep linking infrastructure.

Enterprise customers demand features that are easy to overlook but essential at scale:

99.9% uptime means your referral flows, social sharing, and link-based user acquisition don’t break during traffic spikes
<100ms latency ensures links resolve fast enough that users experience instant app routing, not a loading state
Role-based access lets your marketing team, engineering team, and data team each see and edit only what they need
24/7 support with product engineers (not support tickets that take 48 hours to respond) means you are unblocked when a production issue hits
Multiple apps under one account is underrated: enterprises don’t run one app. Managing dozens of apps across ChottuLink’s centralized dashboard beats managing separate accounts across different platforms

These aren’t edge cases. They are baseline requirements for apps with 10M+ downloads.

Why Developers Prefer ChottuLink: Drop-In Firebase Dynamic Links Replacement

Beyond the pricing and reliability, there’s one more reason ChottuLink has become the de facto Firebase Dynamic Links replacement: it’s a drop-in replacement.

Firebase Dynamic Links developers have muscle memory around how deep linking works. They understand deferred deep linking, route-based link logic, and how to integrate the SDK. ChottuLink’s SDKs, API, and dashboard aren’t a new paradigm. They feel familiar, because they are designed to feel familiar.

That familiarity is one-less-hurdle, and boosts engineering velocity. You don’t have to relearn your entire deep linking strategy. You migrate, flip a switch, and your infrastructure works exactly like it did before, only more reliably.

ChottuLink removes that friction entirely.

Get Started

ChottuLink is ready to power your deep linking at chottulink.com. No credit card required. Enterprise apps with millions of downloads already depend on it. Your indie developer side project can start for free. Your scaled enterprise app gets the reliability and support it needs.

The Firebase shutdown was disruptive. But it has also opened a window for better tools, tools built with transparency, focused on the problem they actually solve, and priced so you are not paying for features you’ll never use.

Firebase Dynamic Links Alternative.

Narendra T — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 11:44:09 +0000

Google officially shut Firebase Dynamic Links on August 25, 2025.

But the functionality is not entirely dead yet. If you are an existing user, you can still create new links. And the links still work (unpredictably).

A lot of apps still rely on it for deferred deep linking, app invites, and smart banners. The links work right now, with some users complaining about unpredictable behaviour of the Firebase created links. When it actually shuts down, those flows will break unless we switch.

Most popular options with App Owners right now:

Branch.io (most popular paid option, good features but can get expensive)
AppsFlyer or Airbridge (if you are already using them for attribution)
URLgenius (simple and cheap, but mostly for marketing links)
Self-hosted solutions (like Firebase Hosting + Cloud Functions or your own server)
Custom implementations with Universal Links (iOS) and App Links (Android) Which breaks the deferred deeplinks flow.
Just letting the links open in the browser (not great for user experience)

What are you using or planning to use?

I built a lightweight SDK called ChottuLink that works as a direct replacement.
It handles deferred deep linking, supports iOS, Android, Flutter, ReactNative, Unity and Capacitor. It keeps the same simple API as Firebase Dynamic Links. No extra bloat, no big monthly bills. (And also offers a generous Free Tier)

You can check it out at https://chottulink.com if you are curious.
It is already being used by 1000+ Apps.

Would love to hear your thoughts or what solution you picked.

Drop a comment with what approach are you guys following.