A web link is easily shareable on the assumption that anyone you send it to has a web browser. A link to a native app requires you to assume that the recipient has the app installed and is on a platform where app URL schemes are well-supported.<p>Direct linking inside apps has been enough of a pain in the mobile world that entire companies have been built around it -- and the solution that those companies tend to use is built on web links. Android and iOS have also been moving in that direction.