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Facebook Login Updates: A New Limited Data Mode

January 19, 2021ByJohn Bullard

Facebook Login now offers a Limited Login mode. When using the limited version of Facebook Login, the fact that a person used Facebook Login with this iOS app will not be used to personalize or measure advertising effectiveness. To implement the current version of Limited Login update your Facebook iOS SDK to version 9.2+ or Facebook SDK for Unity to version 9.1+. The prior version of Limited Login which only supports name, profile pic and email is available on version 9.0+

This new version of Facebook Login supports two distinct modes; your app will pass Facebook a flag indicating the mode you have chosen for each of your users:

  • Limited Login mode is based on the OpenID Connect standard, and allows users to create new accounts or access existing accounts on your app. The latest version of Limited Login supports name, profile pic, email address, friends, age range and birthday. Note that Limited Login mode utilizes a JSON Web Token which does not support Graph API queries.
  • Classic Login mode remains unchanged from the login product you and your users already know and love. It allows users to create new accounts or access existing accounts while granting your app the ability to access (with Facebook approval and user consent) certain Facebook data intended to improve their experience in your app. Note that Classic Login mode utilizes an oAuth 2.0 Access Token which supports Graph API queries.

You can choose either mode uniformly for all of your users, or choose one of the two modes conditionally. For example, you may choose to leverage Classic Login mode for users who consent to sharing data for ads personalization, and Limited Login mode for those who decline. Note that only Limited Login mode implements the safeguards discussed above.

The modes are interoperable, meaning that you can update a user’s mode at any time. For example, if you initially choose Limited Login mode for a user who’s declined sharing data for ads personalization, but the user later consents to sharing data for ads personalization to improve their experience in your app, you may choose Classic Login mode in a separate session later. Visit this Success Story to learn how one business leveraged social features to boost registrations!

Regardless of the mode you choose, users can still control the Facebook data they have granted to your app at any time via their Apps and Website Settings.

For more information on this new version of Facebook Login, including implementation documentation and FAQs, visit https://developers.facebook.com/docs/facebook-login/ios/limited-login.