Posts Tagged ‘login’

Facebook API and login for desktop apps

I was pretty disappointed today to discover the required login procedure for desktop apps using the Facebook API.

facebook api, desktop app login

Having a user go to a web browser to do the login then come back to the app is a whole lot of grunt work that could easily be eliminated by having login functionality in the API. Why is this not done? I’m not sure. Security may seem the obvious answer, but that’s assuming app developers are completely inept and won’t properly encrypt, store, or transfer credentials. Even if that is the case, it is the trust between the user and the app that is the basis for security here.

There is a workaround available in the facebook-c-sharp library. However, as explain in this thread, actually using the library will result in your app breaking Facebook’s Developer Terms of Service.