Updates

Platform Updates: Operation Developer Love

by M. Dorn on May 19, 2012 · 0 comments

Since last Wednesday’s update, we published a Developer Spotlight on Endomondo, announced the Action Spec Preview Tool, published Monitoring App Quality with Insights, and we published App Center Best Practices.

Updates on the Javascript SDK

In the upcoming weeks, we will be updating the Javascript SDK to limit the publicly exposed interface. This is part of an ongoing process to improve the reliability of the SDK.
The first step will include removing access to all internal properties and to methods prefixed with _.

If you are applying patches to the FB object, these will no longer take effect, nor will directly manipulating properties such as FB._https.
If you are currently relying on accessing internal properties, please refactor this so that you only rely on the publicly available (and officially supported) methods listed at https://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/javascript/.

Note that all methods not listed as part of the public API might be subject to change or removal, and you should not use them directly.

Breaking Changes Effective on June 6, 2012

As announced on the Roadmap and Developer Blog, on June 6, 2012, the following changes will be in effect:

Removal of FBML
FBML apps will no longer work on Platform. All FBML endpoints will be removed. If your app is still utilizing FBML, please migrate before June 6 to avoid any issues.

XMPP Connections must be done over TLS
Apps connecting to Facebook’s XMPP service will be required to use STARTTLS for all connections. We will start rejecting unencrypted connections.

Bugs activity between Tuesday, May 8 and Tuesday, May 15

  • 174 bugs were reported
  • 27 bugs were reproducible and accepted (after duplicates removed)
  • 12 bugs were by design
  • 48 bugs were fixed
  • 49 bugs were duplicate, invalid, or need more information

Bugs fixed between Tuesday, May 8 and Tuesday, May 15

  • submit repro form failed
  • Uncaught Error: No polyfill registered for object connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js:24
  • Login-button not displaying for users logged into FB.com
  • Applications fail to load du to currupted jS script (Uncaught SyntaxError: Unexpected token ILLEGAL)
  • Insights for my app not updating since 5/7/2012
  • parse is not defined in FB.JSON.parse
  • Submitting a post request to https://graph.facebook.com/<page_id>/photos returns “An unexpected error has occurred. Please retry your request later.”
  • Open graph action approved but still shows “pending”
  • Facebook Like comment overlay has z-order problems in IE compatibility view
  • Recommendation plugin does not display any recommendations
  • Application authentication error when uploading picture to ALBUM created using web application
  • Used gift notification URLs point to Apps and Games rather than app
  • Request Dialogs broken in IE9
  • Impossible to publish links on Facebook
  • FQL : some type values are not documented on STREAM table
  • The user_checkins and friends_checkins is not asked when someone want to install my app.
  • Timeline’s milestones not appearing in graph api’s feed or fql results
  • Broken link to “Post object” on stream.publish deprecation note
  • page_fans/lifetime shows zero for some days
  • Posting on event using graph api is not work as its need to work
  • Auth’d user cannot create video.watches action.
  • Cannot connect “read” action to built-in object type of “book”
  • NULL FQL impressions field since 12/15, and post insights completely missing
  • Auth Dialog Form: Tooltip and text box for Headline don’t agree.
  • Failed to Create new action for a recreated App
  • Search API not returning new results
  • Watch Action Type is busted
  • /me/cover brings an oauth (fql?) failure
  • Having major problems writing actions to open graph after possible GDP / permissions / auth change
  • Number of Likes from Insights API does not match Graph API or Page itself
  • Facebook Page Tab Application with top.location.href containing a URI fragment fails to re-load when you “LIKE” or “UNLIKE” the page
  • FB.Canvas.getPageInfo() callback not being called in HTTPS
  • FB footer below fluid canvas is too tall, needs cleaning up.
  • use_online_presence always returning ‘offline’ status
  • Insights Auth Dialog data incorrect
  • result of get order id is different from documentation
  • Offers callbacks are not populating the “data” field
  • Timezone less events – Twitter Bug
  • Can’t make Graph API calls on test users when using their auth tokens
  • Bug: Platform Policies Contact Us Link
  • Specific event name fails
  • Facebook Invite hangs for an user with about 4000 friends
  • Developer App will not allow “localhost” as App Domain
  • Missing posts in wall post feed
  • OG:image changes not being reflected in the Graph
  • Issues with Credits processing
  • Graph API photo upload to fanpage returns unknown error for specific images
  • RFE: No way to cancel a bug submission

Activity on facebook.stackoverflow.com between Tuesday, May 8 and Tuesday, May 15

  • 477 questions asked
  • 405 questions with a score of 0 or greater
  • 146 answered, 36% answered rate
  • 244 replied, 60% reply rate

Source: Facebook Developer Blog

Facebook proposes changes to Data Use Policy, updates disclosure on potential for off-platform ads

by M. Dorn on May 15, 2012 · 0 comments

Facebook proposed a number of changes to its Data Use Policy on Friday, including an updated disclosure about the potential for Facebook data to be used to serve ads on other sites.

The social network also added a number of examples and tips for users to better understand its policies. A pdf of the tracked changes and an explanation of the proposed updates are available from the Facebook Site Governance page. Users have until this coming Friday at 5 p.m. PDT to comment on the changes.

Notably, Facebook has modified its wording about the potential for ads off Facebook to suggest that if it began showing these ads, they may or may not include social context. Part of what makes Facebook ads effective is that they highlight the connections between a business and a user’s friends. However, users might be upset if this information began appearing in ads elsewhere online. Perhaps the company is considering whether to create an ad network that doesn’t show these connections so explicitly. Regardless of whether its ads display social context, the demographic and interest data Facebook has on more than 900 million users could allow Facebook to create an ad network that targets ads more effectively than Google’s AdSense.

Most of the changes Facebook is proposing to its Data Use Policy include editing language related to new features like Sponsored Stories, Timeline and Activity Log. The company has also added clearer examples of what its policy means for users per recommendations from the Irish Data Protection Commissioner’s Office, which audited the social network’s data collection practices last year. Here are some of the significant additions to the policy:

  • New language that explains how Facebook will retain data. The company will continue to retain most data received from advertisers for 180 days, but it notes that there may be some times when it will need to keep information longer. For example, if an advertiser creates a Facebook page, the social network won’t delete information the advertiser puts on its page simply because 180 days had passed. Instead, Facebook will delete it when when the page owner deleted it or closed its account.
  • New language to explain that, in addition to websites, apps — including those on page tabs — may also use instant personalization.
  • New section explaining Facebook’s use of “cookies” and other tracking technologies.
  • New language about groups and subgroups to reflect the launch of “Groups for Schools,” which are special groups that are only open to people who have a confirmed email address for a particular school.

Since 2009, the social network has taken a unique approach with its terms of service. Before instituting any new policies, the company shares proposed changes with users, who then have a period of time to comment and ask questions. For example, in April, Facebook proposed revisions to its Statement of Rights and Responsibilities based on feedback it received on the first draft in March. In some cases, Facebook even puts issues up to a vote.

Last week the social network created a new hub for all of its terms and policies here.


Source: Inside Facebook

Platform Updates: Operation Developer Love

by M. Dorn on May 10, 2012 · 0 comments

Since last Wednesday’s update, we announced the App Center, published Action Links for Timeline Apps, a Developer Spotlight on Kobo, and a How-to: Improve the Experience for Returning Users.

Breaking Changes Effective on June 6, 2012

As announced on the Roadmap and Developer Blog, on June 6, 2012, the following changes will be in effect:

Removal of FBML
FBML apps will no longer work on Platform. All FBML endpoints will be removed. If your app is still utilizing FBML, please migrate before June 6 to avoid any issues.

XMPP Connections must be done over TLS
Apps connecting to Facebook’s XMPP service will be required to use STARTTLS for all connections. We will start rejecting unencrypted connections.

Bugs activity between Tuesday, May 1 and Tuesday, May 8

  • 177 bugs were reported
  • 33 bugs were reproducible and accepted (after duplicates removed)
  • 17 bugs were by design
  • 48 bugs were fixed
  • 51 bugs were duplicate, invalid, or need more information

Bugs fixed between Tuesday, May 1 and Tuesday, May 8

  • Uncaught Error: No polyfill registered for object connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js:24
  • Facepile widget not showing friends name and picture
  • FB.init has already been called – Facebook Connect – called only once
  • Unable to add credit testers
  • Send button opens new tab
  • Problem with Like/Send button with data-layout set to ‘button_count’
  • Facebook like button is rendering incorrectly in IE10 (desktop/metro )
  • FB.ui keeps loading
  • Graph API hits on “/me” return false since 18 April 00:00 (UTC)
  • In the mobile enhanced auth dialog, it says “this app may post on your behalf” even without publish_stream
  • Unable to enter Credits Callback URL in Credits settings page.
  • .canvas_iframe_util height for Canvas setting height fixed
  • Cannot submit Open Graph actions for approval.
  • Live stream bug blank page when press to link of user’ profile in Firefox
  • Application does not display to users who are not app admins
  • Posts Not Showing Up On News Feed in Mobile App/Page
  • can’t set my app’s profile picture…
  • “Apps Recently Used” Box on user Timeline broken for non-canvas Apps
  • Like Plugin / Send Button does not pull correct metadata for Fan Pages using Timeline
  • 503 Errors
  • Auth Dialog Insights are inaccurate with publish_actions
  • Events is broken when created using the new event creation UI
  • App request
  • sandbox security fall
  • adcreatives report not returned all creatives
  • Dispute emails now missing user-entered text fields
  • Reporting a bug via Report/Contact this App causes a blank email to be sent to User Support Email
  • Missing letter in text at bottom of checkout page
  • Social Clicks & Social Unique Clicks no longer being returned in Ads API
  • SSL connection timeout
  • Website field doesn’t accept URL’s with an underscore
  • getAdGroupStats now returns a new key “events” that holds an object
  • Feed Dialog Produces Captcha Screens and Always Fails
  • Auth Dialog Form: Tooltip and text box for Headline don’t agree.
  • Credit Card Payment portal Error message is unlocalized – Chinese
  • “Credit Card Information” window is partially unlocalized for Japanese
  • Creating/Updating an event with the Graph sets the wrong state/country
  • Facebook Registration problem
  • Crashes as a result of not setting delegate to nil in Facebook object dealloc
  • result of get order id is different from documentation
  • Offers callbacks are not populating the “data” field
  • Signed_request without user_id and oauth_token, or broken
  • Social plugin login broken for users with named devices security/login notifications turned on
  • Developer App will not allow “localhost” as App Domain
  • Issues with Credits processing
  • Unable to create a bug in IE 8 without failing validation
  • Graph API event attendee list limited to ~999 users
  • RFE: No way to cancel a bug submission

Activity on facebook.stackoverflow.com between Tuesday, May 1 and Tuesday, May 8

  • 481 questions asked
  • 430 questions with a score of 0 or greater
  • 138 answered, 32% answered rate
  • 233 replied, 54% reply rate

Source: Facebook Developer Blog

Platform Updates: Operation Developer Love

by M. Dorn on May 7, 2012 · 0 comments

Since last Wednesday’s update, we published a Developer Spotlight on Deezer, and best practices documentation for Android and iOS Facebook integration.

Best Practices: Creating Timeline Aggregations

This week we published a new product guide on Creating Timeline Aggregations. The purpose of this guide is to help product managers and developers understand how to create aggregations that people will find interesting.

Facebook IP ranges

To allow Facebook to scrape your pages, you can whitelist Facebook IP ranges. You can read more about it here.

Breaking Changes Effective Today

As announced on the Roadmap and Developer Blog, today the following changes are in effect:

offline_access Permission Removal

The offline_access permission is deprecated and will be removed on July 5, 2012. Today, we have turned the migration to “enabled” for all apps. If this breaks your app, you can turn the migration back to “disabled” until July 5, 2012 when it will be permanently “enabled” for all apps. Please see the Removal of offline_access Permission doc for more details.

Removal of group_type and group_subtype columns from group FQL table
We have removed the group_type and group_subtype columns of the group FQL table. Please ensure that your apps are not utilizing these columns.

Removing support to claim Domains using Page ID – Originally scheduled for April 1st
We have removed the ability to claim domains with a Page ID. The recommended option for claiming domains is with an App ID or User ID and existing domains that have been claimed will continue to work fine. After claiming domains, owners are able to view insights or run Domain Sponsored Stories. See the Insights documentation for more on the updated domain claiming flow.

August 2012 Breaking Changes Migration Now Available

We recently updated our Breaking Change Policy so that breaking changes only go out on the first Wednesday of each month to ensure all breaking changes are pushed during the work week. We are now making breaking changes easier for you to test via our Migrations framework. You can access migrations for your app by going to the Dev App, clicking on Settings, then the Advanced tab, and you’ll see the Migrations section.

We have several existing individual migrations and we realize that it can be difficult to keep track of them. Going forwards we plan to group most breaking changes into monthly migrations (e.g. “July 2012 Breaking Changes”). We’ll aim to make migrations available 90 days before the changes will go into effect. New migrations will default to the disabled state for all apps created before the day the migration is made available. Apps created after that date will automatically have the migration enabled.

August 2012 Breaking Changes (90-day notice)

The following changes will be in effect on August 1, 2012:

Deleting FB.Canvas.setAutoResize – Originally scheduled for January 1, 2011

We have renamed FB.Canvas.setAutoResize to FB.Canvas.setAutoGrow so that the method more accurately represents its function. FB.Canvas.setAutoResize will stop working on July 5th. We will completely delete the function on August 1st (if you call it you will get an “undefined function” error).

Page Post GETs from Graph API/FQL Will Require an Access Token

All calls to GET Page posts from the Graph API or FQL will now require an access token to be used.

The following changes can all be enabled/disabled using August 2012 Breaking Changes settings until August 1st when they will go into effect permanently for everyone:

Removing prompt_permissions.php and prompt_feed.php
We will be removing a very old version of the feed dialog (/connect/prompt_feed.php) as well as a very old version of the auth dialog (/connect/prompt_permissions(s).php). If you are one of the very few developers still using these legacy endpoints, you should upgrade to the current Feed Dialog and/or OAuth Dialog.

Removing Add To Timeline Plugin

We will be removing the Add to Timeline plugin. If you are embedding the Add to Timeline plugin, we will render the Login Button in its place with the publish_actions permission automatically added to the scope parameter.

Please check out the Developer Roadmap for more upcoming changes.

Bugs activity between Tuesday, April 24 and Tuesday, May 1

  • 125 bugs were reported
  • 33 bugs were reproducible and accepted (after duplicates removed)
  • 11 bugs were by design
  • 26 bugs were fixed
  • 65 bugs were duplicate, invalid, or need more information

Bugs fixed between Tuesday, April 24 and Tuesday, May 1

  • FB.getLoginStatus is not triggering callback
  • FB.login() hanging after user logs in when called from https page
  • Insights connection is empty
  • link field no longer returned with page object from graph api
  • #200 Error on Open Graph Actions
  • Oauth Login popup is not closed when the oficial Facebook App is installed on Google Chrome
  • documentation error (typo) about Scores
  • API Error Code: 100
  • Getting Facebook Blank Screen while logging into facebook from App
  • Problem with authorization
  • log in fail in oauth dialog in android device
  • FB JavaScrpt SDK leaks ‘response’ var into global vars
  • 3rd Party Publishing Apps: Wall Photo Posts do not go to Fan Ticker or Fan News Feed
  • Linking to a group results in Page Not Found
  • Connection objects not being returned correctly
  • Typo Errors in Roadmap as on 21st March 2012
  • Technical Site Description on Facebook Policy Contact Page is misleading
  • static library xcode build failure
  • “Post to Facebook” doesn’t post on page timeline
  • Token exchange for non-SSO offline_access tokens fails
  • facebookexternalhit hitting us hard
  • Feed Dialog “actions” field is not working as array
  • page_fans/lifetime not reporting in insights
  • Insufficient documentation on Requests
  • FBDialog.m won’t work with ARC
  • Graph API request to /page/tagged does not returns notifications made on photos and videos

Activity on facebook.stackoverflow.com between Tuesday, April 24 and Tuesday, May 1

  • 454 questions asked
  • 403 questions with a score of 0 or greater
  • 139 answered, 34% answered rate
  • 236 replied, 59% reply rate

Source: Facebook Developer Blog

Platform Updates: Operation Developer Love

by M. Dorn on May 1, 2012 · 0 comments

Since last Wednesday’s update, we shared a Developer Spotlight on Diamond Dash Mobile, explained how users can now discover native Android apps through Facebook, and streamlined getting the publish_stream and publish_actions permissions.

Facebook Offers Now Accessible via the API

Last week, we expanded the Facebook Offers beta to five more countries. Offers allows businesses to publish deals and coupons to their fans through their Facebook Pages. We have now added support creating and managing Offers via the API. Check out the /offers connection of the Page object, the Offer object, and the Offer FQL table for more information. Please note, Offers is available in self-service to a limited set of Pages in New Zealand, Singapore, Australia, Japan, and Turkey. We plan to launch Offers more widely in the coming weeks. To learn more, please see our recent blog post.

Real-time Insights

This week we made the following Insights metrics available in “real-time” (refreshed approximately every 15 minutes):

  • page_storytellers
  • post_stories
  • post_storytellers
  • post_stories_by_action_type
  • post_storytellers_by_action_type
  • post_impressions
  • post_impressions_unique
  • post_impressions_paid
  • post_impressions_paid_unique
  • post_impressions_organic
  • post_impressions_organic_unique
  • post_impressions_viral
  • post_impressions_viral_unique
  • post_impressions_by_story_type
  • post_impressions_by_story_type_unique
  • post_consumptions
  • post_consumptions_unique
  • post_consumptions_by_type
  • post_consumptions_by_type_unique
  • post_engaged_users
  • post_negative_feedback
  • post_negative_feedback_unique
  • post_negative_feedback_by_type
  • post_negative_feedback_by_type_unique

For more information on these and other metrics, check out the Insights FQL table documentation.

Upcoming Breaking Changes on May 2, 2012

offline_access Permission Removal

The offline_access permission is deprecated and will be removed July 5, 2012. Until then, you can turn this change on or off using the “Remove offline_access permission” migration. On May 2, 2012, we will automatically turn the migration to “enabled” for all apps. If this breaks your app, you can turn the migration back to “disabled” until July 5, 2012 when it will be permanently “enabled” for all apps. Please see the Removal of offline_access Permission doc for more details.

Removal of group_type and group_subtype columns from group FQL table
We will remove the group_type and group_subtype columns of the group FQL table. Please ensure that your apps are not utilizing these columns.

Removing support to claim Domains using Page ID – Originally scheduled for April 1st, 2012
We will remove the ability to claim domains with a Page ID. The recommended option for claiming domains is with an App ID or User ID and existing domains that have been claimed will continue to work fine. After claiming domains, owners are able to view Insights or run Domain Sponsored Stories. See the Insights documentation for more on the updated domain claiming flow.

Please check out the Developer Roadmap for more upcoming changes.

Bugs activity between Tuesday, April 17 and Tuesday, April 24

  • 165 bugs were reported
  • 21 bugs were reproducible and accepted (after duplicates removed)
  • 12 bugs were by design
  • 27 bugs were fixed
  • 101 bugs were duplicate, invalid, or need more information

Bugs fixed between Tuesday, April 17 and Tuesday, April 24

  • FB is not defined
  • all.js failed to download: All Facebook Game Apps not working.
  • Facebook logo showing up on timeline and feed stories instead of app logo
  • Unable to post message to http://mydomain.com. Recipient has origin https://www.facebook.com
  • Box-Count layout in Like/Send button displaying too far to the right
  • API Error 100 in Android App.
  • Facebook like box javascript error
  • Login Failing with iOS SDK in Facebook App (but not Mobile Safari)
  • JSON Polyfill on all.js causing issues.
  • LIKE button unexpectedly stopped displaying profile faces.
  • iFrame Like button contents is over-flowing
  • clicking on “show more” in the stream for like-box plugin opens the like box in a new window
  • Mobile Web Apps, MFS not loading
  • App won’t fully come out of sandbox mode
  • OpenGraph: Objects in “images” array for an individual FB photo now have missing source property for various sizes.
  • Mobile Deep Linking Not Working Properly Some Links
  • Submitting actions not possible
  • Deleted App Request can still be queried directly by graph id.
  • 500 err when trying to access connectionobjects of ads account
  • Reach estimate returns 0
  • documentation typo: post -> story_tags field
  • Internet Explorer 7 display issue
  • Estimated Reach results coming back with 0 values
  • Credits for Mobile breaking during redirect.
  • Unable to edit ad account group via Graph/REST API
  • empty response for ?ids= query in case access token presents
  • Error in the open graph “Updating an Action” sample url.

Activity on facebook.stackoverflow.com between Tuesday, April 17 and Tuesday, April 24

  • 535 questions asked
  • 477 questions with a score of 0 or greater
  • 172 answered, 36% answered rate
  • 271 replied, 57% reply rate

Source: Facebook Developer Blog

Facebook updates Locations app, but feature still only available to select pages

by M. Dorn on April 26, 2012 · 0 comments

Facebook recently relaunched its “Locations” app that allows users to search directly from a company’s page to find business locations near them.

The feature, which helps organize corporate and local pages, had to be redesigned to fit the new Timeline layout. The Locations app is only available to select brands working directly with Facebook. A spokesperson from the social network could only tell us that pages have to ask Facebook to enable the app, but she could not provide details about what makes a company eligible for the feature.

Facebook’s Locations app first appeared in August 2011 as part of a limited private test of parent-child page management tools. Since then we’ve had a number of readers inquire about when the feature would be available publicly, but it seems Facebook is reserving this for select partners for now.

Corporations like Starbucks, Macy’s and Home Depot are among those with the Locations tab, but it’s unclear whether companies have to make a certain size advertising spend to qualify or simply be well-known. Businesses with access to a Facebook account representative or working with one of Facebook’s Preferred Marketing Developers certified in Pages should connect with those contacts to request access to the app. Other businesses will have to develop their own store locator applications.

Facebook’s native Locations app overlays store information on a Bing map within a tab on a company’s page. The map defaults to a tight radius around the user’s current location, but refreshes with additional results when users re-orient the map. Users can also search by city, state or zip code. The tab is not available from Facebook’s mobile site or applications.

Partners with access to the feature can manage their corporate and local pages using the Pages API and a basic admin interface. Hearsay Social, which was initially involved with Facebook in developing the management system, provides additional features and regulatory compliance for companies with both corporate and local pages. Hearsay CEO Clara Shih says her company was not involved in the latest update to the Locations app, though customers including 24 Hour Fitness use it. She did not have any information about how companies outside of her customer base could get access to the feature.

Here are links to a number of pages’ Location tabs:

  • Starbucks
  • Macy’s
  • 24 Hour Fitness
  • Equinox
  • Lowes
  • Home Depot
  • Red Lobster
  • Safeway
  • Toys-R-Us
  • Subway
  • Quiznos
  • Baskin-Robbins
  • Regal Cinemas
  • Ann Taylor


Source: Inside Facebook

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