Facebook is the world’s largest social media platform, with over 2 billion monthly active users as of 2022. Given Facebook’s massive userbase, many developers and companies are interested in accessing and leveraging Facebook data, especially Facebook posts, to power their applications and services.
The most common questions around Facebook data are:
- Is there a Facebook API for posts?
- Can I programmatically get posts from Facebook?
- How can I access Facebook posts from my app or website?
The short answer is: Yes, Facebook does provide APIs to retrieve data from their platform, including access to posts. However, Facebook has restricted and reduced access to their APIs over the years due to privacy concerns. Getting access to Facebook posts via their API requires going through an approval process and adhering to strict usage policies.
In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about accessing Facebook post data through their APIs:
Facebook Graph API for Posts
The primary API that provides access to Facebook data, including posts, is the Facebook Graph API. The Graph API allows you to make requests to retrieve data from Facebook’s social graph, which is their representation of the connections between people, places, photos, events, and other entities on Facebook.
Here are some things to know about using the Graph API to access Facebook posts:
- You need an access token – To query the Graph API, you need an OAuth access token that identifies your app and provides access on behalf of a user, page, or app.
- Posts are on the User, Page, Group, and Event nodes – User, Page, Group, and Event nodes in the social graph contain a /feed connection that allows retrieving the posts on that entity’s timeline.
- Not all post data is available – The fields returned depend on the privacy settings and the level of access granted to your app. You may not have access to all post fields.
- Rate limits apply – Facebook enforces rate limits on API requests to prevent abuse and ensure stability. Apps that make too many calls may get temporarily blocked.
Here is sample code for getting posts from a Page using the Graph API and a page access token:
“`
GET /{page-id}/feed?fields=message,link,created_time,type HTTP/1.1
Host: graph.facebook.com
“`
This would return the message, link, created_time, and type fields for each post on that Page’s timeline.
The Graph API provides the most direct access to retrieve and work with Facebook posts. However, getting access requires going through Facebook’s review process, described next.
Getting Access to the Graph API
Facebook does not allow unfettered access to user data via their API due to privacy considerations. To get access, you must go through the following process:
- Register as a Facebook Developer – Go to https://developers.facebook.com and register as a Developer. This will give you access to Facebook’s developer tools and dashboard.
- Create a Facebook App – Apps are the entities that can request access tokens and call Facebook’s APIs. You’ll need to create an app representation for your product or service.
- Go Through App Review – Submit your app for review to request the types of data access your app needs. App review checks compliance with Facebook policies.
- Get App Approved – If approved, Facebook will issue an app ID and secret you can use to generate access tokens.
- Generate Access Token – Once approved, generate a page access token or user access token to query the Graph API.
This process ensures apps accessing Facebook data comply with their policies and protect people’s privacy. It is not trivial and can take weeks to get a review decision.
Facebook API Rate Limits
Facebook imposes rate limits on apps using their APIs to prevent abuse. Apps that exceed rate limits will get blocked from making further requests.
Some key rate limits to be aware of:
- 200 requests per user access token per hour
- Page access tokens have higher limits of about 600 requests/sec
- 200 requests per app per IP address per hour
- Batch requests limited to 50 calls per batch
Apps that need high throughput would need to spread requests across multiple access tokens, pages, and IP addresses.
Facebook also restricts some data that apps can access. For example, friends’ privacy settings may limit what data you can retrieve about a user’s friends. Be sure to factor Facebook’s access restrictions into your app’s design.
Alternative Access Options
Getting approved for Graph API access can be difficult, so many developers use alternative methods to get Facebook data:
Web Scraping
Services like ParseHub and Import.io can scrape data from the public Facebook website. However, scraping violates Facebook’s terms and could result in legal action. Scraping should only be used for collecting limited data from your own Facebook presence.
Facebook Login
Implement Facebook Login in your app using the Facebook SDK in order to gain authorized access to some post data from users who connect via Facebook Login. However, you will only get access to posts the user consents to.
Paid Data Providers
Companies like BuzzSumo and SocialBakers pay for Facebook access and make social data available to customers. This is likely more limited and expensive than Graph API access, but may be useful.
User Consent
Your app can request users directly consent to share their data via messenger extensions, share buttons, or account linking. This provides access to user-approved data.
Best Practices for Using Facebook Post Data
If you gain access to the Facebook Graph API or obtain posts through other means, be sure to follow Facebook’s guidelines and respect user privacy. Here are some best practices:
- Only collect the minimum data needed for your app to function.
- Be transparent in your privacy policy about how you use Facebook data.
- Allow users to revoke access and delete data you’ve collected.
- De-identify Facebook data before use if possible.
- Implement highest security standards for storing Facebook data.
- Consider data minimization, anonymization, aggregation, and other techniques to protect privacy.
By being a trusted, responsible steward of Facebook user data, you will stay compliant, avoid issues, and build long-term viability of your app or service.
Conclusion
Facebook does provide API access to retrieve and use posts programmatically, but requires thorough review and approval for apps seeking access. The Graph API provides the most complete post data, but alternative approaches may be needed depending on your use case and resources. Focus on collecting only the data you need, handling it securely, and respecting user privacy and Facebook’s policies if you integrate with their platform. With careful API use and data handling, accessing Facebook posts can benefit users and businesses alike.