On 4 April 2018, Surprisingly Facebook made some changes in their APIs without any prior notice for the both Instagram and Facebook. Unexpectedly Facebook updated their plans to restrict data access. Some of these updates were expected but others are completely shocking. These updates definitely can affect all users of Facebook API and Instagram API.
Facebook made these changes to protect user’s information and security purpose. Facebook believes that these kinds of API changes can avoid data leaking and help to make information of all users more secure. These updates affected Taggbox also. Below you can read the list of related recent changes and how they affect Taggbox:
Facebook API Changes
1. Event API
According to the recent Facebook announcement for their API changes, you can’t fetch posts from event page timeline. Facebook completely disallow this feature so you will not be able to add Facebook events as a source to your wall. Facebook deprecated event API and apps using the API will no longer be able to get posts and guest list. And in future, only approve apps will be allowed to use the event API.
2. Group API
Similarly, Facebook has been deactivated group APIs and you can’t fetch the posts & feeds of the groups. Facebook also introduced some updates related to user information and approvals. Now, in new Group API update, third-party apps need to take approval from Facebook and admin. Facebook also removed the user details from feeds, posts, albums, videos and other groups’ endpoint.
Due to these sudden Facebook API changes, Taggbox users now can’t aggregate and add their Facebook group posts and event posts on Social Wall in Taggbox Account. Facebook announced some more changes but they won’t affect Facebook Twitter Instagram aggregator tools like Taggbox.
Instagram API Changes
1. Login Credentials are mandatory for Handles Accounts
Like Facebook, Instagram is also going to provide a more secure place to users. In results, Instagram changes its API. According to Instagram new API update, you can’t aggregate unowned Instagram Account (@username) posts.
In other words, you will need credentials such as login id and password to aggregate Instagram feeds.
If you are using an Instagram handle and have login credentials for that handle then you can easily aggregate Instagram feeds.
But in case, you don’t have the credential for any handle and still want to aggregate feed than you can’t do it because of the new Instagram API update.
For example, if you owned @Taggbox Instagram handle with login details, you can easily aggregate posts from that account.
You can still aggregate public content via a specific hashtag in Taggbox account, login credentials are not required for this.
Note: If you are an existing user of Taggbox, you should Re-authorize your Instagram account immediately.
2. Profile Images and names are no longer available
In new update of Instagram API, you can’t able to see Author profile images and full names on aggregated feeds. After aggregating feeds in Taggbox account, you can only see username handle (@username) of Author.
Aggregated feeds will only show username handle on posts and restrict profile images and full names.
3. Changes in Rate Limit
On Friday, 30 March 2018, Instagram changed the rate limit for its platform API. Instagram decrease the number of requests for developers. Now developers can’t ping more than 200 requests to Instagram for updated information.
Before any update, Instagram allowed rate limit was 5000 calls per hour but now after changes, Instagram decreased it to 200 calls per hour. In other words, developers can pull data from Instagram much less usually they were allowed.
Read More: How to get Instagram API
