Facebook is blocking hundreds of thousands of apps from accessing user data

Facebook has blocked all those apps from accessing user data that failed to submit their apps to social media giant for review before the deadline set by Facebook that expires today.

Facebook announced in May that all those apps that are using social media giant’s Application Programming Interface (API), a developer platform that gives user data access to app developers, have to go through a detailed review for protecting Information of Facebook users and gave a deadline till August 1 to submit their app for the company’s app review process.

Facebook announced in a blog post on Tuesday that the social media giant is cutting off the API access for those hundreds of thousands of inactive apps that could not submit for review.

This could be seen coming after the entire Cambridge Analytica fiasco that Facebook went through that forced the company to tighten up their security measures to protect their user data.

The updated process for review demands the developers to verify their business if their app requires specific API permissions. Furthermore, the developers who are simultaneously building apps for other businesses also need to sign new contracts and comply with limitations on how data would be used.

For those developers who missed the deadline, the social media giant said it is still accepting submissions for app reviews. The company also says that the apps that Facebook is still reviewing will not have their access cut off.

The post also states,

“Where we need more information, developers will have a limited amount of time to respond. If we don’t hear back within that timeframe, we will remove the app’s access to APIs that require approval.”

The reason was to make sure that third-party software on Facebook complies with the company’s data privacy rules and new restrictions from the company.