Testing Facebook apps with special permissions
How to make test-able Facebook apps which require special persmissions
Social networks are in an expansion and more and more they are becoming part of the applications, especially online applications. Even .NET framework included authentication with social networks built in as an out of the box feature of .NET platform.
However as social networks evolve they are changing mostly in the area of security and user data privacy.
One of the issue I run into recently was related to this.
Apparently, when you create and application for authentication on Facebook, it has access only to few basic defaults areas:
- email
Provides access to the person's primary email address. This permission is approved by default. - public_profile
Provides access to a person's basic information, including first name, last name, profile picture, gender and age range. This permission is approved by default. - user_friends
Provides access to a person's list of friends that also use your app. This permission is approved by default.
In case you need any other specific permission you need to send a review to Facebook to approve it. This is a sort of security measure Facebook is taking to stop misuse of user data.
To send such a permission you need to:
- write in details the flow of your app
- screenshots of the flow in the app
- test link in case your application is accessible from outside your network
- test users for Facebook to test functionality
Basically you really need to convince them that you are not using Facebook for any missus of users data.
However if you need to these permission only for test, you can create your own test users which are valid for your Facebook App.
Go to section Roles > Test Users and you can create your own test users with their own info, images and all other features that other regular Facebook users have.
First thing you need to do after you creatre test users, you need to set the password and you are ready to go for testing your functionality.
You can login to Facebook by using these test accounts and arrange their profile as they are the real users to make more realistic picture of your application flow or create test and use case scenarios even before your application gos live. It also allows other persons to test your App by using these face test accounts to access your application functionalities without being delayed by Facebook review response in test phase of the project.
These test users will automatically have permission you requested approved by Facebook and you can use these test users for testing your functionalities.
References
Disclaimer
Purpose of the code contained in snippets or available for download in this article is solely for learning and demo purposes. Author will not be held responsible for any failure or damages caused due to any other usage.
About the author
DEJAN STOJANOVICDejan is a passionate Software Architect/Developer. He is highly experienced in .NET programming platform including ASP.NET MVC and WebApi. He likes working on new technologies and exciting challenging projects
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