Facebook Preps Developers for New Facebook Login April 30

Facebook provided developers with some helpful reminder information on the use of Facebook Login in their applications, including common error scenarios and best practices. Product manager Simon Cross reminded developers in a blog post that the social network will begin migrating apps April 30 to Graph API v2.0 and the new Facebook Login, and he described some of the prep work Facebook did to ready developers for the changes: We tested more than 5,000 apps to see how people experience the new Facebook Login and to identify common errors within apps that may cause suboptimal experiences for people. When we logged into apps and de-selected permissions, such as email address or birthday, we saw a few common scenarios across all the apps we tested. Below are a few of those scenarios, along with tips on how to build and design your Login experience to gracefully handle declined permissions. The common error scenarios discovered by Facebook were: Error messages: If people choose to decline a permission, they should be able to log in and experience your app without seeing an error message. Errors leave people with a negative impression, especially errors that are unclear or do not give people an option to move forward. Silent errors: Other common errors include showing a perpetual loading screen, or returning the person to the login screen in a continuous loop. This usually happens when an app is designed to move forward after it receives a permission, but cannot move forward since that permission was not granted. And Cross offered the following best practices for developers: Continue on without the information: Let the person continue in your app without an error message. Error messages that lock people out of an app discourage sign-ups and you lose a new user. You can always request the information after a person becomes more familiar with the app experience. Explain why you need the information and re-prompt: People may decline a permission because they don't understand why your app needs that information. In this case, your app could display a dialog explaining why you need the information and how it'll be used to enhance the experience. For example, the message below might appear when a person has declined the email permission. The “Add Email” button takes the person back to the Facebook Login dialog where they can grant the permission. Collect the information yourself: In this example, Flick Finder wants to collect a person's birthday so it can recommend age-appropriate movies. If a person has declined to share their birthday when they logged in, Flick Finder can still create a place to collect the information inside the app, separate from the Facebook Login flow. We recommend doing this after a person has had some time to familiarize themselves with your app, so they have a better understanding of how the permission will improve their experience. Developers: Are your apps ready for April 30?

Social Pro Daily

Facebook Preps Developers for New Facebook Login April 30

Facebook provided developers with some helpful reminder information on the use of Facebook Login in their applications, including common error scenarios and best practices.

David Cohen

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David Cohen