Hundreds of Apps Have Been Blocked From Facebook

App developers, if you forgot to submit to Facebook’s new review process you’re in trouble.

The social networking giant cut off all apps that hadn’t been re-submitted to Facebook’s review system by the Aug. 1 deadline.

Yikes.

Facebook designed the review system to determine whether or not apps were in accordance with their newly-formed privacy rules and regulations.

According to The Verge, in an attempt to decrease problems surrounding security and safety of data the company opted to block numerous dormant apps from its application programming interface.

“Our goal with all these changes is to ensure that we better protect people’s Facebook information while also enabling developers to build great social experiences — like managing a group, planning a trip or getting concert tickets for your favorite band,” Facebook’s Vice President of Product Partnerships, Ime Archibong said in a blog post.

Facebook assures developers that they will not lose access to their API’s while in the queue for review. 

“To ensure all apps currently in use go through our review process, we will be proactively queueing up apps for review,” Archibong said.

This comes in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica Scandal, where some Facebook users had their information shared without their consent by third-party applications.

Wait! Will my favourite apps be affected???

Generally speaking, probably not. Most of the apps Facebook blocked are “dormant”. 

While some sources reported that “hundreds of thousands” of apps have lost their access, the social networking giant has made it clear that as long as an app is under review nothing should change for the average user – or the app developers.

According to Mashable “…developers won’t lose their [Application Programming Interface] access while they’re being reviewed, so long as they comply with the company’s policies.”

Phew.

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.

By Mihika Vyas