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How to integrate Facebook in Android Studio?

By: Author Jonathan Turner

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How to integrate Facebook in Android Studio?

Integrating Facebook into an Android app allows users to leverage their existing Facebook accounts and connections. Some key advantages of Facebook integration include:

  • Allowing users to log in with their Facebook account instead of creating a new account
  • Accessing a user’s Facebook profile information such as name, profile picture, gender, location etc.
  • Leveraging Facebook’s Friend Graph to find and connect with friends who also use the app
  • Publishing content and activity from your app to a user’s Facebook News Feed
  • Driving growth through Facebook Login and sharing

Overall, integrating with Facebook can significantly increase user engagement and retention for your Android app. It taps into Facebook’s vast social graph of over 2.5 billion monthly active users.

Prerequisites

Before integrating Facebook into your Android app, there are a few prerequisites:

  • Facebook Developer Account – Sign up for a Facebook developer account at https://developers.facebook.com/. This allows you to register your Android app with Facebook and get an App ID.
  • Android Studio – Install the latest version of Android Studio for developing your Android app.
  • Android SDK – Install the Android SDK (API level 15 or higher) via the SDK Manager in Android Studio.
  • Create an Android Project – Create a new project in Android Studio which will be linked to your Facebook app.

1. Register your Android app on Facebook

The first step is to register your Android app on the Facebook for Developers dashboard. This will generate an App ID and other credentials needed to connect to the Facebook SDK.

Here are the steps:

  1. Go to the Facebook for Developers Dashboard and log in with your Facebook developer account.
  2. Click ‘+ Add App’ to create a new app.
  3. Enter a Display Name and Contact Email for your app.
  4. Choose a Category that describes your app e.g. Games, Business.
  5. Click ‘Create App ID’. This generates an App ID for your app.
  6. Click on your app to go to the dashboard.
  7. Under ‘Quickstart’, click Android to launch the setup guide.
  8. Enter your Android Package name e.g com.example.myapp and click ‘Next’.
  9. Leave the defaults on the next few screens and click ‘Save’ to generate the Facebook App Secret.

Once done, you will have the App ID, App Secret and Package name needed to connect your Android app to Facebook.

2. Add the Facebook SDK

The Facebook SDK for Android enables you to integrate Facebook functionality into your app. The key steps are:

  1. In Android Studio, open the build.gradle file for your app module.
  2. Add the following dependency to include the Facebook SDK:


    dependencies {
    ...

    implementation 'com.facebook.android:facebook-login:[7,8)'

    }

  3. Sync your project with Gradle to install the SDK.

This installs the required Facebook libraries including the Facebook Login, Sharing and Graph APIs.

3. Add strings and meta-data

We need to provide the Facebook App ID and other metadata for integrating Facebook. Follow these steps:

  1. Open the AndroidManifest.xml file.
  2. Add the following inside the <application> tag:


    <meta-data
    android:name="com.facebook.sdk.ApplicationId"
    android:value="@string/facebook_app_id"/>

  3. Open the strings.xml file and add your Facebook App ID:


    <string name="facebook_app_id">123456790</string>

  4. Also add the following permissions:


    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>

This links your app to the Facebook App ID and allows internet access.

4. Add a Facebook Login Button

To allow users to log in with Facebook, add a Facebook Login Button in your app UI:

  1. Open the activity_main.xml layout file.
  2. Add the <com.facebook.login.widget.LoginButton> element:


    <com.facebook.login.widget.LoginButton
    android:id="@+id/login_button"
    android:layout_width="wrap_content"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content" />

  3. Save the changes.

This adds the official Facebook Login button to your app which users can click to log in.

5. Set up the LoginManager

The LoginManager from the Facebook SDK manages the login flow. Initialize it in your onCreate method:


@Override
protected void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);

LoginManager.getInstance().logInWithReadPermissions(this, Arrays.asList("public_profile"));
}

This initializes a LoginManager instance and sets the ‘public_profile’ permission. This allows accessing basic profile info.

6. Handle Login Callback

When users click the Facebook Login button, the result is returned in onActivityResult. Implement a callback method:


@Override
protected void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
super.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, data);

callbackManager.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, data);
}

This passes the login response to the CallbackManager for processing.

7. Get User Data

Once login is successful, you can access the user’s profile information:


GraphRequest request = GraphRequest.newMeRequest(
loginResult.getAccessToken(),
(object, response) -> {

String firstName = object.getString("first_name");
String lastName = object.getString("last_name");
String email = object.getString("email");
String id = object.getString("id");

// Use user data

});
request.executeAsync();

This Graph API request returns data like first name, last name, email and id that you can use in your app.

8. Share Content to Facebook

In addition to login, you can also integrate Facebook sharing into your app with the SDK:


ShareLinkContent content = new ShareLinkContent.Builder()
.setContentUrl(Uri.parse(urlToShare))
.setQuote(quoteToShare)
.build();

shareDialog.show(content);

This constructs a ShareLinkContent and displays the Facebook share dialog allowing users to share content.

Conclusion

Integrating Facebook login, sharing and other features into your Android app is straightforward with the Facebook SDK. Key steps include:

  • Registering your app on the Facebook Developer dashboard.
  • Adding the Facebook SDK dependency.
  • Adding your Facebook App ID and permissions.
  • Adding the Facebook Login button.
  • Initializing the LoginManager.
  • Handling login callbacks.
  • Requesting user profile data.
  • Integrating sharing features.

Once set up, you can take advantage of the powerful social graph and platform of Facebook in your own native Android app.

Some additional enhancements include:

  • Tagging friends in posts and checkins.
  • App Events for analytics.
  • App Ads for monetization.
  • Account Kit for streamlined registration.
  • Facebook Analytics for usage metrics.

So get started integrating Facebook today to boost your Android app!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the latest version of the Facebook Android SDK?

As of October 2022, the latest version of the Facebook Android SDK is v13.0.0. This includes updated versions of the Login, Share and Graph APIs as well as bug fixes.

How do I request user permissions on Android?

When initializing the LoginManager, pass a list of permissions such as “public_profile” and “user_friends” that your app needs. The user will be prompted to approve these permissions during login. You can also request additional read permissions later using the Graph API.

What Android API level does the Facebook SDK support?

The Facebook SDK supports Android API level 15 and higher. Make sure your Android Studio project is configured for this minimum API level.

Should I obfuscate my Android APK when using the Facebook SDK?

Yes, you should configure your APK for obfuscation except for the com.facebook.* packages to prevent issues with the Facebook SDK integrations. The ProGuard configuration is provided in the SDK documentation.

How do I handle Facebook login errors and exceptions?

You can catch FacebookException when calling LoginManager and GraphRequest methods. The exception contains an error code field you can handle accordingly. Refer to the error handling docs.

Is an internet connection required for Facebook integration?

Yes, an active internet connection is required for users to be able to log in with their Facebook accounts and make API calls to Facebook servers. The SDK does not work offline.

How can I customize the look and feel of Facebook login?

You can customize the LoginButton colors, dimensions and styling programmatically or via XML layout attributes. Facebook also provides guidelines for customizing the login UX.

Can I show Facebook posts directly in my Android app?

Yes, you can display Facebook posts, videos and photos within your app using the Graph API and by parsing the post data. Embed the content in a WebView or custom native views.

Is Facebook Account Kit available for Android to simplify registration?

Yes, the Facebook Account Kit SDK is available for Android and iOS to streamline onboarding and account creation in your app using just a phone number or email without a password.

Table of SDK Methods

Class Methods Description
LoginManager logInWithReadPermissions() Logs in the user and requests read permissions.
LoginManager logOut() Logs out the current user.
CallbackManager onActivityResult() Handles login response.
GraphRequest newMeRequest() Gets current user data.
ShareDialog show() Launches the share dialog.

Code Samples

Log in and request permissions


LoginManager.getInstance().logInWithReadPermissions(this,
Arrays.asList("public_profile", "user_friends"));

Get profile information


GraphRequest request = GraphRequest.newMeRequest(
accessToken,
(object, response) -> {
// Handle user data
});

request.executeAsync();

Share link dialog


ShareLinkContent content = new ShareLinkContent.Builder()
.setContentUrl(urlToShare)
.build();

shareDialog.show(content);

Debugging Tips

  • Enable debug logging in your app to see verbose output from the Facebook SDK.
  • Make sure you are initializing the SDK correctly in your Application subclass.
  • Double check your key hashes and App ID in the Facebook developer dashboard.
  • Try logging out and logging in again if a user is having issues.
  • Handle all exceptions thrown by Facebook SDK methods.
  • Use the Graph API Explorer to test calls and permissions.
  • Temporarily disable app obfuscation to rule out issues.

Security Best Practices

  • Only request the minimum permissions needed from users.
  • Pass access tokens rather than usernames/passwords where possible.
  • Do not store access tokens in app code or plaintext.
  • Handle errors gracefully and do not expose stack traces to users.
  • Validate all user data from Facebook on the server.
  • Use the latest version of the Facebook SDK.
  • Keep your app secret safe – reset if compromised.
  • Consider using Facebook Account Kit for registration to avoid passwords.

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