I've been developing a desktop PC game in Unity which connects to Facebook in order to post messages about the player's progress (high score etc). The chosen method of how the app integrates with Facebook is currently set to "Website with Facebook Login". Everything is already set up and working (Open Graph stories, action and types) but after trying to submit the app for review, it appears desktop apps are not allowed to be configured this way.
The question I am asking is, if desktop apps are not allowed to use App Center, what are the preferred methods of posting messages to a users wall? There is the option of using normal feed posting but it is my understanding that this approach does not allow custom stories and will only display a generic message.
Does anyone have experience with the matter or perhaps has integrated it in their own game / app in the past?
Just to clear up a misconception in the question, an app can appear in Facebook's App Center even if it doesn't publish anything to Facebook - it must be on a supported platform (iOS, Android, or Facebook Canvas), though. And an app that doesn't appear in App Center can still publish to the site, too. The two are not connected.
That said: The feed dialog is actually highly customizable, and relatively easy to integrate into any game that can invoke a Web browser. Check out its documentation for details.
Additionally, you can create highly structured messages using the Open Graph. Doing this requires you to get the user's authorization, probably using a Web dialog. You need to request the publish_actions permission to do so; a few games (case study here, e.g.) have had remarkable success building out appealing OG implementations.
None of this is really specific to the Unity SDK at this point, I'm afraid, as it doesn't currently have native desktop support (just iOS, Android, and web player). But I hope it's helpful.
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I'm looking at setting up an Instagram app so I can push content from my app directly to Instagram. I'm already doing this for Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
I know that Instagram is in the middle of moving to the Facebook Graph API, and it seems like there are several barriers to even start developing an app.
At the top of the Getting Started link there's a blurb stating that I need to undergo "Business Verification" to use the Instagram Graph API. Do I need to do this in order to use these endpoints in sandbox mode? (Edit: I believe this must be done in order to test the non-beta aspects of the API) In addition, the Content Publishing API seems to be locked down even further, requiring parternship with either Facebook or Instagram, and neither are accepting new applications.
Is there some way to test this in sandox mode without becoming a partner?
(Edit: Testing your app Suggests that I must do business validation in order to use the non-beta aspects, and there's no permission for publish_content, leading me to believe that I must be a business partner to even test this feature. Can anyone confirm?)
Januray 26, 2021
The Content Publishing beta has ended and all developers can now publish media on Instagram Professional accounts. Refer to the Content Publishing guide for usage details.
https://developers.facebook.com/docs/instagram-api/guides/content-publishing
Is it possible to submit my 3D WebGL HTML5 / Facebook Canvas app to the App Center, even though it does not use the Facebook API? It isn't integrated with Facebook in any way, other than, being embedded in..
https://apps.facebook.com/flappy-wheels/
..from a Dropbox-hosted URL, if that even counts as a technical "Facebook integration" - which I doubt, as no API usage or Facebook signup or login required to even play it.
I keep on trying to submit it for App Center review but it insists to think I'm using the FB API when I'm not. Does this mean usage of the FB API is absolutely required for App Center submission? What if I dont want my app logging in to people's Facebook accounts? What if I don't want it accessing their personal information, or posting for them, or any of that jank? What if I just want it to be a game to simply be played embedded in a FB app URL, with no actual FB integration or interaction? Can that not be put on the App Center?
It thinks I need 3 permissions, one of which is logging in to people's accounts, I think these 3 permissions are put there in settings by default, how do I removed those permissions from my app settings, as those permissions listed aren't being used in my game, as it isn't using any FB permissions?
A smaller question on the side, what is the "tagline"? Like, it is the keywords / searchable tags, right? I'm used to them being called just "tags" and not a "tagline" so just to be sure I know what it is.
Thank you so much for any help or suggestions!
Yes you can always submit the html5 game on facebook canvas but for App Centre listing its necessary. Also using dropbox, github hosted sited will have less server resources allocted to them and hence high load time - i recommend to use any other hosting services out their, but remember https is a must.
Tagline is like a punch line for any product just go on the same theme.
https://apps.facebook.com/horoscopes/?fb_source=search
Can anyone tell me what kind of facebook app it is? canvas or something else?
I would want to create an app in php but have no clue where to start from. Can i create a test app and start the process? please help.
I have tried creating an app but that needs to be approved before even starting the development and showing us as a page on facebook app
Any app with an address of apps.facebook.com/* is the Canvas link to the App, which means this app has a canvas page at the minimum. It may also have a website and mobile app associated with it, but that's harder to determine.
You should so some research before trying to create an app. You do not need to get any sort of approval to develop an application, even if you use excessive permissions. However, you will need to get your app approved for any extra permissions prior to launching to end-users.
You should visit the Facebook Developer website and pick a SDK you're comfortable with. I would recommend using the JavaScript one to get started, but the choice is yours. Then you should follow the starter guide to creating your first app. Everything you need to create an app is discoverable through Google, and I have a few handy tutorials on my site for using the PHP and JavaScript SDKs.
I have a question about increasing visibility of Facebook app notifications.
As far as I can tell, there are only 2 places where Facebook app requests appear for users who don't click the "Apps & Games" section - in the top right section (https://skitch.com/nicksoman/8172w/facebook) or in the jewel (https://skitch.com/nicksoman/81737/2-facebook) - I believe the wording is a bit different on this one if recipients haven't used the app, as it references an invite rather than a request.
As other have noted, neither of these channels provides any context around the request. In the past I've seen context for apps like BranchOut and FarmVille, but I can't replicate this behavior by sending invites from these apps now (can anyone)?
Has anyone found a Facebook-approved way to either provide more context around these app requests or make them more visible?
I'm familiar with the history of Facebook tweaking channels due to abusive apps - just want to make sure I'm current on best practices today.
Are you referring to users who haven't authorized your app or users who did?
Basically, facebook calls this Social Channels and you have a few options, again, depending on if the user is already using your app or not.
If the user is using your app, you have the bookmarks bar which can be used by issuing a App-generated requests.
If the user isn't using your app then a friend of his that is using your app can send him a User-generated request.
You can and should encourage your users to publish your app stories to their friends' feed and/or to send them to friends.
There's that "Automatic Channels" which is discussed in the first link in this answer.
More options are to use the Social Plugins in your website, and to have a mobile version of your app.
It's my first posting on here (although I've been using this site for reference for quite some time).
I've been trying for several days now to find or dream up a way to use Facebook's "Single Sign On" from within a mobile web app (not a native iOS or Android app) to automatically sign a user into a web app if they are already logged into Facebook from the native Facebook app on their mobile device for example.
My limited knowledge is telling me that it can't be done since the mobile browser and the 'system' (iOS for example) are too separated (I can't, I don't think, have my mobile web app use or access the native Facebook app on a mobile device in any way).
I have found and read the iOS, Android AND Mobile documentation provided by Facebook (https://developers.facebook.com/docs/guides/mobile/) which all seems to make enough sense, but after days of trawling through everything else I could find on the subject there doesn't seem to be a way to use, for example, the Facebook app on an iPhone or Android device to automatically log a user in to my web app if he/she is already logged into Facebook.
I've read lots about doing this from within 3rd party native apps and also other people trying to achieve a similar thing from within Desktop apps but I'm trying and hoping to be able to achieve this from a web app running within a mobile web browser.
I'd be very grateful for any help, opinions or pointers in the right direction since I think this would be an excellent step forward in UI for mobile web apps to have (not just the native apps).
Many thanks in advance...
Probably a bit late to the party but in case anyone else is wondering yes it's possible with Cordova/Phonegap and the Facebook Connect Plugin: https://github.com/davejohnson/phonegap-plugin-facebook-connect/
Using the FB.getLoginStatus() method at startup allows to check if the user is already signed in with the native Facebook App and retrieve its profile. More details in the examples provided in the repo.
I have not yet implemented it myself, but seems possible according to:
http://developers.facebook.com/docs/mobile/web/build/#login