Remember those Facebook apps that let you use your Facebook login but kept asking for access to everything from your email address to your friends list? And you said, “Um, I don’t think so”?
They're still asking, but Facebook heard your complaints, and a year ago it announced that users would have a choice of what to reveal to apps using its platform to let people log in and share information from the app on Facebook. And April 30, this coming Thursday, is the day all of them have to meet those requirements.
Today, Facebook said most apps, especially the most popular ones (think Pinterest,
But some--and "some" could mean a lot given that hundreds of thousands of apps use Facebook to facilitate logins, sharing, and other activities--may run into problems. They may show errors or just hang. Others have already shut down completely.
The changes are the culmination of a process that began two years ago, when the company started interviewing about 100 Facebook users for feedback on Facebook Login. Asked how they feel about apps using their information and other questions, many said they’re more comfortable being able to choose what information they reveal to apps than being forced to provide it all carte blanche.
That was something of a wakeup call for Facebook. "If people don’t feel comfortable using Facebook and feeling comfortable logging into apps, then we don’t have a platform," Cross said.
So a year ago, at its F8 developer conference, Facebook said every app built after April 30, 2014, would need to use the new Facebook Login and Graph API (Application Programming
Under the old system, you only got a choice to use Facebook to log in or not, with no choice as to what info got revealed to the app if you do. Now, you have an option to edit the info you want to release. You can unclick access to your friends list, email, or other info.
That could also have some impact on marketers, both those with their own apps and those that target ads on various apps based on information people may no longer provide permission for apps to use. Some marketers may target ads to people's friends, for instance, but if people hold back more often on providing that info, marketers may have to find other ways to reach them.
Facebook tested 5,000 of the top apps to see how they’d operate when users declined some permissions. Some apps showed an error, but in the majority of cases, they worked fine, Cross said. "We’ve spent the last year giving developers a ton of feedback," he said. "We really want developers to make it clear to people how their information will be used."
The "absolute majority" of apps have already upgraded to the new login, such as Netflix, Pinterest or Soundcloud, Cross said, though he wouldn't specify a percentage.
For apps that already existed as of a year ago, users will need to dive into the inner workings of Facebook app permissions if they want to change what they reveal. If you already granted Likes to Pinterest, for instance, you have to remove the app’s access to your Facebook info in Facebook app’s settings, then log in again and the new login dialogue will appear.
Where the breakage in apps could occur is in cases where apps asked for permission to use information that Facebook doesn't allow anymore. On Anypic, for instance, you used to be able to take photos from friends use them on their timeline. Now, each of those people has to grant permission to share info with other applications.
Facebook's changes have made a difference, Cross said. There are 50% fewer permissions requested now by apps. More important for Facebook and connected apps, the average rate of people logging in with the new login system is 11 percentage points higher than the previous version. "That’s an indication that people are more comfortable," Cross said.
