Facebook app marketers: Make sure your apps are set to Live Mode

Facebook reminded app developers on Tuesday to make sure their apps are set to Live Mode for production use. After October 23, apps that are set to Development (Dev) Mode will not be able to manage assets not owned by the app developer’s business or access the data of any users who aren’t associated with the app.

“Once you’re in Live Mode, and have completed App Review for the permissions and features your app requires, you will be able to access the associated data for users interacting with your integrations (for example: people commenting on your business page or users signing up for your app).”

Why we should care

Newly created apps are automatically set to Dev Mode by Facebook so that developers can configure and test app integrations before submitting the app for review. In Dev Mode, the app only has access to data for four app roles: Administrator, Developer Tester and Analytics User.

Starting October 23, if a developer fails to turn on an app’s Live Mode function — once it has been approved by Facebook and is ready to be launched — the app will not be able to access the associated data for users that interact with the app’s integrations, such as Pages or ad accounts. Without this information, marketers will not have access to meaningful app-related data.

Also, for marketers that have connected their app to Facebook’s Marketing API, Live Mode opens up eligibility for Facebook’s Ads Management Standard Access, a platform that provides higher rate limits (the number of API calls an app can make within a given time period) than what is offered by Facebook’s “Dev Tier” app platform.

More on the news

• The on/off toggle to activate Live Mode is located at the top of the screen on Facebook’s App Dashboard.
• To turn on Live Mode, developers will be asked to enter: the “Privacy Policy” URL for the app, the app’s icon, its business use and category.
• Facebook has made a number of changes to its app policies since suspending Cambridge Analytica for misusing its app to harvest user data. Last week, the company reported it had suspended tens of thousands of apps in the past year.

About The Author

Amy Gesenhues

Amy Gesenhues is a senior editor for Third Door Media, covering the latest news and updates for Marketing Land, Search Engine Land and MarTech Today. From 2009 to 2012, she was an award-winning syndicated columnist for a number of daily newspapers from New York to Texas. With more than ten years of marketing management experience, she has contributed to a variety of traditional and online publications, including MarketingProfs, SoftwareCEO, and Sales and Marketing Management Magazine. Read more of Amy’s articles.