canOpenURL(_:)
Returns a Boolean value that indicates whether an app is available to handle a URL scheme.
Declaration
nonisolated func canOpenURL(_ url: URL) -> BoolParameters
- url:
A URL (Universal Resource Locator). At runtime, the system determines if the device has an installed app registered to handle the URL’s scheme. The device can have more than one app registered to handle a scheme.
The URL can have a common scheme such as
http,https,tel, orfacetime, or a custom scheme. For information about supported schemes, see TP40007899.
Return Value
false if the device doesn’t have an installed app registered to handle the URL’s scheme, or if you haven’t declared the URL’s scheme in your Info.plist file; otherwise, true.
Discussion
When this method returns true, iOS guarantees subsequent calls to the open(_:options:completionHandler:) method with the same URL will successfully launch an app that can handle the URL. The return value doesn’t indicate the validity of the URL, whether the specified resource exists, or, in the case of a universal link, whether the device has an installed app registered to respond to the universal link.
You can call this method safely on a thread that isn’t the main thread.
If you link your app against an earlier version of iOS but it is running in iOS 9.0 or later, you can call this method up to 50 times. After reaching that limit, subsequent calls always return false. If the user reinstalls or upgrades the app, iOS resets the limit.
Unlike this method, the open(_:options:completionHandler:) method isn’t constrained by the LSApplicationQueriesSchemes requirement. If an app is available to handle the URL, the system will launch it, even if you haven’t declared the scheme.
Using universal links instead of custom URL schemes removes the need to use this method to validate target links; if no app is available to handle a universal link, iOS routes it to the person’s default browser, allowing the associated website to respond. For more information on universal links, see Allowing apps and websites to link to your content.