Send SMS with link to open Android mobile app

Question

Our cloud application sends SMS reminders to about 50 people (not employees, not strangers, but known close associates). The reminder currently says something along the lines of "Reply Y or N". Now we have a mobile app in Android that we are planning to distribute to them, and we want to send a reminder that says "Click on the link bbsrep://smsstreamline.bluebridge.com/respond/ and fill in the form". My problem is that when I install the app onto the device through Android Studio, and then send an SMS to the device saying "Please go to bbsrep://smsstreamline.bluebridge.com/shortreport/", the SMS does not recognise the string as a link.

Is that because the Android Installer from my PC doesn't register the scheme? Or is all my formatting askew?

The complete manifest for the mobile app reads:

<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    package="com.bluebridge.smsstreamline">

    <application
        android:allowBackup="true"
        android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"
        android:label="@string/app_name"
        android:roundIcon="@mipmap/ic_launcher_round"
        android:supportsRtl="true"
        android:theme="@style/Theme.SMSStreamline">
        <activity
            android:name=".activity_senderphone"
            android:exported="false" />
        <activity
            android:name=".Respond"
            android:exported="true">
            <intent-filter>
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW" />
                <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
                <category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE"/>
                <data android:host="smsstreamline.bluebridge.com"
                    android:pathPattern=".*"
                    android:pathPrefix="/shortreport/"
                    android:scheme="bbsrep" />
            </intent-filter>
        </activity>

        <activity
            android:name=".MainActivity"
            android:exported="true">
            <intent-filter>
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

                <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
            </intent-filter>
        </activity>
    </application>

</manifest>```

I've searched through heaps of SO answers, and tried a dozen different formats, but am too much of a newbie in Java land to work it out.

Jack