Facebook Like Gate deprecation

On November 5 2014, Facebook made the following change to its Platform Policy:

“You must not incentivize people to use social plugins or to like a Page. This includes offering rewards, or gating apps or app content based on whether or not a person has liked a Page. It remains acceptable to incentivize people to log in to your app, checkin at a place or enter a promotion on your app's Page. To ensure quality connections and help businesses reach the people who matter to them, we want people to like Pages because they want to connect and hear from the business, not because of artificial incentives. We believe this update will benefit people and advertisers alike.”

This Facebook Platform policy change affects Adobe Social users who have built Facebook apps using our App Builder and have applied Like Gates to the apps.

Check out the FAQ below to learn more.

What does this mean for my Facebook apps?

The policy change means that you can no longer place a Like Gate onto a Facebook app to incentivize people to Like your page before seeing the app’s content.

How does this affect Adobe Social users?

With regards to Adobe Social functionality, it means that we will no longer support Like Gate functionality on Facebook apps built by our App Builder. We will deprecate this functionality during the scheduled maintenance period on November 18, 2014 between 9:00 am and 1:00 pm PT.

What do I need to do next?

Adobe recommends that you take the following steps immediately:

1. Review all published and unpublished Facebook apps for any that have Like Gate functionality turned on.
2. Turn off Like Gate functionality.
3. Remove and change any copy, content, or images that refer to Like Gating.
4. Test and republish the app.

Is there a workaround?

Unfortunately, there is no workaround. This is a change to Facebook Platform policy, and all marketers using Facebook must adhere to these rules.

How should I think about Facebook apps going forward?

Instead of Fan or Like acquisition, Facebook app strategies today should primarily focus on “deepening relationships” and driving more valuable “business actions."

How do I learn more about Facebook’s policy change?

Check out this Inside Facebook article to learn about the impact of the change.

If you have any questions, contact your Social Account Manager.