So I have an iPhone with the IMDB app installed. When I search for a movie through the safari web browser and click a link for an IMDB page how does the phone know “hey I see IMDB is installed, instead of opening this page in the safari browser I’ll open it through the installed app”.
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Apps have a manifest file which lists things like version and permissions. It can also say which URLs are associated with it, e.g. If the URL starts with www.imdb.com, open it with this app.
Your phone contains a sign-up sheet where apps can write down the names of specific websites with an attached note saying, “If you see this website, send it to me!” Apps sign up on this sheet at the time you install them.
Every time your phone opens a link, it checks the sign-up sheet to see if the website matches any of the names on the list. If a match is found, the link is opened to whatever app asked for it. If no match is found, it defaults to your web browser.
Besides the manifest as other commenters explained. Each app also gets a special link (web address). These don’t work online but if your phone sees it, it will try to open the app. This is how some services you can use online, and then press a button that says: “go to app” and it gets you there.
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