What does it do?

When someone taps, the App Install step looks at the phone they’re using (its operating system) and routes them to the matching store listing:

  • iPhone or iPad → opens your app’s Apple App Store listing.
  • Android phone → opens your app’s Google Play listing.
  • Desktop or an unrecognized device → shows the standard Download on the App Store and Get it on Google Play buttons so the visitor can pick.
  • No app set up for that phone → shows a short message: “Sorry, no app has been set up for your phone’s operating system.”

The Tapper never has to guess which store to use or search for your app — they land on the exact listing for the phone in their hand.

When should you use it?

  • App-first businesses — a tag on packaging, in-store signage, or a flyer that installs your app
  • Events and conferences — a tag that drops attendees onto your event app
  • Hardware products — a tag on the device that opens its companion app
  • Restaurants / retail — a loyalty or ordering app you want customers to install at the table or counter

How do you set it up?

  1. In the Interaction Builder, click Add Step → App Install (Actions category).
  2. The step has two sections — Google Play (Android) and App Store (iOS).
  3. In each section, type your app’s name in the search bar. Matching apps appear with their icon, name, and publisher.
  4. Click the right result to select it. The app’s icon is shown so you can confirm you picked the correct app (a wrong link is easy to miss otherwise).
  5. Do this for both Android and iOS. You can configure just one platform if your app is only on one store — Tappers on the other platform will see the “no app set up” message.
  6. App Install is a final step — no steps can be added after it. Publish and assign the interaction to a Kitetag Group.

How the phone is detected

The step decides where to send each Tapper using Dynamic Tap Data (DTD) — specifically the detected operating system of the tapping phone. This is worked out on the Kitetags servers from the tap itself, so there is nothing for you to configure and nothing for the Tapper to allow.

Only true mobile devices are routed automatically. A laptop or desktop visitor (including a Mac) is treated as “unknown phone” and shown both store buttons, since they aren’t on a phone that can install the app directly.

Notes and limits

  • One per interaction, and it must be last. Like other terminal steps, you can have only one App Install step and nothing can follow it.
  • Configure one or both stores. If only Android is set up, iPhone Tappers see the “no app set up” message (and vice-versa).
  • iPhone and Android Tappers are redirected automatically — they do not see the download buttons; their phone goes straight to the listing. The buttons appear only when the device can’t be identified.

Next steps

Last updated 10 Jun 2026, 13:15 -0700 . history