[appsuite-announce] FYI: Facebook Integration for App Suite - Important API changes

[Open-Xchange App Suite Maintenance Announcements]

Dear Customers of Open-Xchange,

We would like to notify you about changes to the Facebook API and the impact this has on the OX App Suite app server.

Facebook has introduced a new API Permission called “read_stream”, which allows clients of their API to retrieve the Facebook stream of a user. This data was used in the OX App Suite Portal widget to give users instant access to their Facebook data without leaving App Suite.

The issue with this new API permission is that Facebook only grants it to 3rd party applications which do not run on the following platforms (All platforms where Facebook already is present):

- Web
- TV
- iOS
- Android
- In-Car 

As OX App Suite is a web-based application this means that it is no longer possible to get this permission granted by Facebook.

OX App Suite customers with an existing, old Facebook API Key, may be able to continue accessing the API until August 2016. 

IMPORTANT: As a result of the API restriction the Open-Xchange App Suite Integration for Facebook will stop working because the Facebook API itself is no longer accessible.

For more information about this API restriction please check out following link:

https://developers.facebook.com/docs/facebook-login/permissions/v2.3#reference-read_stream

API changes by Facebook impact many companies that integrate Facebook into their products.

Microsoft in particular has been adversely affected and has recently announced that, due to broken compatibility, Facebook integration will no longer be supported by a number of their products. For example Outlook, the Office 365 Outlook Web App, and certain apps in Windows 8, 8.1, and Windows Phone 7 and 8. This includes syncing of Facebook Contacts, automatically picking up events from Facebook and posting updates and publishing photos or videos from some apps.

Open-Xchange is a company committed to open source and supporting healthy integration. As such we also try to deliver open interfaces but unfortunately, in this case, Facebook has put additional barriers to access in place which make this impossible.

Best regards,
Your Open-Xchange Team

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Open-Xchange AG, Rollnerstr. 14, 90408 Nürnberg
Amtsgericht Nürnberg HRB 24738
Vorstand: Rafael Laguna de la Vera, Carsten Dirks
Aufsichtsratsvorsitzender: Richard Seibt