Facebook API - Need publish_pages and manage_pages but Failing Review - facebook

My code is working properly in dev mode, but I can not get approval to use publish_pages or manage_pages. I keep failing every review.
The problem is that the software is to be ran as a cron job and there's really no user interface. This is for an auction website and we want to post a summary of auctions for the next day in our feed.
For some reason they keep saying:
Your screencast doesn't show how the use of this permission directly improves the user experience in your app. Unfortunately we also weren't able to determine this from testing your app manually
Right now, if I have the app in dev mode the post submits successfully, but only my user account can see them, so I've been having to leave dev mode on, let the app post, and then turn the app live.
This is less than ideal. Is there any 3rd party application that has already been approved I can use to post to our facebook page?

It seems like the magic is making sure to mention "this is a server to server application with no user interface" is all that's required to get your app approved. After doing that, it went through without an issue.

Related

New Facebook app requires App Review for Pages API

I am trying to set up a new Facebook App that is used to pull in the latest post from a public page into another website. I successfully did this a few months ago, but since the GDPR law has come into effect, Facebook's process of creating new apps has become much stricter, requiring them to go through App Review before allowing access to the Pages API product.
However to go through the App Review process, I need to provide step by step instructions and a screencast of the app in action. This isn't an app in the traditional sense, and how am I meant to show the app in action when I can't get it working without it being reviewed!?
The docs mention that "While testing and before submitting for review, your app may only access content that is available on a Page that you, as an app admin, developer, or tester, administer. If the app wants to access public content on other Pages, you must submit this feature for review" - does this mean that I do not to go through App Review if the Developer Account has access to administer the page in question?
To answer your question directly, if your app will only be loading data from pages that you admin, you don't need review/approval to use that API
That said, if you're making this app to fetch posts from someone else's page it will need approval, and if it's a simple background script i'm not sure how you can have it reviewed - the process is focussed on page management tools used by multiple users rather than once-off scripts

App Review on Facebook - Private Software that may scale up in the future

So we've developed a Facebook App (and similar apps on Twitter and Instagram) that allow users to post and read content using an external system. We'll sell this integration directly to our clients, so it's a private application.
Basically the user will see a very simple page with a button "Log in to Facebook" and a disclaimer regarding the authorization (we'll use some query params fixed in the url, depending on the client). The client authorize us and we capture the access tokens.
To submit the app review, though, we have to explicitly give a test user to the reviewers, but that's not really possible because the real "action" happens within the integrated systems, NOT within the app itself. And those systems are not public (they shouldn't be).
So just to be clear: our app is basically a very simple "Facebook login" that we use to get tokens, generated by specific clients authorization. It's not going to be published anywhere.
Until we have around 5 to 10 clients we can add the specific users in our app as Testers/Admins/etc, but what if we scale up? Say we have 20 clients. How are we supposed to get our app to be "live"?
To follow the app review steps we would have to create some users in our local systems (we have some dev environments), open them to the internet so the reviewers can log in and see how it actually works? Is that it?
(btw I'm asking this because our app review was rejected twice and I want to make sure I'm submitting everything they ask this time).
Thanks :)
I think the Login Review FAQ answers most of your questions. The key point:
Our review team will actually test how your app uses each permission on every platform you have listed in the settings section of your app.... You'll need to explain exactly how to test each permission or feature in your app so that we can make sure it works and follows our policies. We can't approve your app if we can't fully test how it integrates with Facebook.
In other words, it's not enough to just allow them to log in to your app, you have to expose all Facebook-related features to the reviewer.
To follow the app review steps we would have to create some users in our local systems (we have some dev environments), open them to the internet so the reviewers can log in and see how it actually works? Is that it?
Yes, though I'm not sure what you mean by "open them to the internet". You should be able to create a test user on your local system and link that account to a test Facebook user. Then you can have the Facebook reviewer use that test account for their review. (From the FAQ: "In the Items in Review section, you'll see a Test User (optional) section that allows you to type the name of the user you wish to be used in your review.")

Submit facebook application for review

I created an fb application which uses the following permissions: manage_pages,publish_pages, and read_insights.
The main purpose of the application is to give to the authenticated user reports and statics about the popularity of his own fb page.
I noticed that I can't use those permissions until I submit the app for review.
In the facebook developer account, I noticed that for each of the above permissions I have to complete some notes:
1. How a person logs in with Facebook
2. How a person sees the permission used in your app.
Also they want me to upload a video to show them that I use the permission correctly.
The problem is that I'm not sure what should the video contain in order to clarify the point 1 and 2.
Right now my application is only doing the authentication phase (signup), and in the next release we are going to create and display analytics for each user who joined the platform.
I would be grateful, If you could give me some suggestions regarding what facebook would like to know in order to approve the permissions.
Thanks,
Your App needs to be working before you can send it in for review. Meaning, you need to have at least a working prototype. For development, you do not need to go through the review process, every permission works for everyone with a role in the App without review.
In other words, you can´t go through review with permissions you don´t even use right now.

Creating a Test Facebook app with publish action permission?

I see that Facebook has made a lot of changes in their API and working structure of those for creating the FB application for Web/IOS/Mobile.
I am creating a facebook app with my FB developer account to get the Test App's API secret credentials.
With this app I need to test the feature of Publish_ations (Ex:- Post on pages/wall,sharing),but that feature is not enabled for Test App API.And if we want to enable that then we may have to submit the review with some details.In those details they are asking for the steps to test the feature that we will provide in our Application.They need the snaps of pages where that FB feature will be and ETC of info.And that whole process will take upto 7 days.
I am confused that if my application is in progress and that FB feature we are planning to develope then How should I give the steps to test the Feature on our website before creation of that Feature.
Is there any information that I am missing from FB docs for testing enviornment with Publish Action permission.
Please help me I have already wasted 7 days (Tried the review submission process of FB and they have rejected that because of incomplete application and information)
Thanks in advance!!
You're confused. The login/permissions related things works as it was in v1.0 ; just the difference is that you need to submit for review after the app is ready. But that's the last step.
I think you're using the API for the first time, so you may not be aware how exactly to add the permissions in your app. The permissions are added using the scope parameter in the login code. See the details here..
For example, if you're using the JS SDK-
FB.login(function(response) {
// handle the response
}, {scope: 'email,user_likes'});
similarly its done for the other languages.
After adding the permission the admin/developers/testers of the app can test the application and publish posts; while app is in development mode. And this is just similar how we used to do in v1.0.
When your app is ready (the last step), submit your app for the login review (this step wasn't present in the v1.0, you just needed to make it live). After they approve your app with this permission, you can make your app live and everybody can publish post using your app. That's it.

Getting Facebook publish_actions Permissions

If this is the wrong place to ask this - I super apologize in advance, I'm at a loss here.
I'm trying to develop a simple Facebook PHP app and I'm having trouble getting publish_actions. Here's how the app will work:
You enter your email address
Periodically, you receive emails like this ("Hey nice person, here's a video we think you might be interested in, click here to share it on your wall")
You click the button, it takes you to the app site, which asks for your publish permissions
You enter a message and share the video to your wall.
My problem: all of that requires publish_actions permissions, but FB won't grant them to me until I can show a working app (I applied for permissions and was denied because "Canvas
Your app isn't loading properly and errors appeared while testing your app").
My question: How do I get access to publish_actions without being able to show a working app (which requires publish_actions)? Can I use PHP to post to my own wall in development mode somehow to test it out?
Again - I apologize for the dumbness of this question, I am a PHP dev who is very new to FB, and I've looked everywhere for answers on this.
Try using the Facebook Graph API Explorer
You will be able to simulate some of the app permissions as if it was production.
Just go and select your app, then select Get User Access Token, finally select all the permissions you want to test.
Use the given token to develop and test things out and when you have a semi finished version, submit it through the app review section, following the Facebook App Review Guidelines
I submitted screenshots, a video of my app working, and step by step description on how to reproduce the publish action.
Hope it helps.