Facebook Graph API and another alternative — for getting public data from social media

Facebook Graph API or alternative? Our comprehensive guide delves into the basics of the Facebook Graph API, highlighting the key features, pros, and cons of the solution. We also provide an overview of another alternative tool to give you a complete picture of options available. Here you will find real-world examples and insights to improve your data strategy.

What is Facebook Graph API?

Facebook Graph API (Facebook public data API) is a widely used API and the basic tool to grab data from Facebook. Graph API Facebook emphasizes relationships linking data objects and those that hold data in themselves. Programmers can use it also for posting info, running ads, and carrying out a lot of other tasks.

Obtaining data is also the main focus of some similar solutions like Data365 Social Media API, for example, that provides users with a large amount of public data and offers analogous features.

Let us more closely examine how to apply Graph Facebook API to retrieve data and check if something alike can be delivered by other solutions.

There are several available Facebook Graph API versions for developers from v5.0 (introduced on October 29, 2019) up to v19.0 (introduced on January 23, 2024). A new version is released quarterly with some changes from the previous. These changes may also apply to other versions at a future date.
The major alteration of Facebook is revising its privacy policy and severely limiting access to data as a reply to the scandal over the illegal use of personal data by Cambridge Analytica in 2017 and high-profile investigations into Facebook's involvement in it.
Facebook admitted that made mistakes in operating with Cambridge Analytica and introduced measures that would impede companies and tools to gather data from Facebook users. 

At Data365.co, we also respect user privacy by only pulling data from publicly available sources, in accordance with GDPR requirements. Users should use our APIs with caution and responsibility, ensuring that any personal data collected is compliant with GDPR principles and handled ethically.

FB Graph API: how to apply it? 

The API graph Facebook is the priority way of receiving data. You can explore all public objects – posts, users, pages, events, groups, places, etc. But note, you should be authorized to search on the individual user's news feed. 
In fact, a platform that allows other companies, sites, services, etc., to interact with Facebook is Facebook open graph API. You can use it simply as a login platform without creating your page. In addition to the login function, you can apply for user permissions for resources such as managing events, posting on friends' walls, etc.
On a slightly more technical level, implementation of this functionality means showing the user a dialog that tells them which parts of their data the application would like to access, asking the user to either authorize or deny permission to this application.
We will consider how to get Facebook developer graph API in the next section.

Facebook Graph API tutorial

To begin operating with the Graph API to retrieve data, you need:

• to log in as a Facebook developer;
• Facebook application (Facebook app) designed for testing, so you don't need to use your app code when building it);
• Graph Explorer tool (we will talk about it in more detail below);
• and knowledge of the main graph API principles.

Access token for Facebook API Graph: why do you need it?

Access tokens allow your app to access the Graph API. Almost all Graph API endpoints require one access token or another. So every time you access an endpoint, you may have to specify one at your request. They typically serve as follows:

• providing your app access to the user information without requiring the password;
• allowing to recognize your app, its client, and the kind of data accessed by your application.
  

In different cases, use various types of access tokens, namely:

1. The user access token is used when an application calls an API to read, modify, or write Facebook data on behalf of a specific person.
2. The application access token allows you to read and change application settings.
3. The page access token is like the user access token but allows the API to read, write or change the data owned by the Facebook Page.
4. A client access token is used to recognize the application.
   

There are several ways to receive a Facebook Graph API access token. For more detailed info about Facebook Graph API get access token, you can view the official Facebook Graph API documentation.

If you're looking to get social media data using Data365.co, just send us a request and our team will take care of the rest. It is enough to leave a request on the website, then our specialists contact you to learn about your business and needs (what data you need, in what volumes, at what speed, how our product can be helpful, etc.). We will provide you with an access token and help you integrate our API into your application. We will also support you while using our API.

Facebook Graph API request

The Graph API is based on the HTTP protocol, so it works with any language that has an HTTP library, such as cURL and urllib. In other words, the Graph API can be used right in the browser. The official Graph API sends only GET requests to get data directly from Facebook.

API from Data365 is a REST API, which means sending two types of requests – POST and GET.
A POST request is a task to retrieve data from social media.
A GET request is a task to get data retrieved. So you will receive a response to your request within 1-5 minutes. Note, that we only provide users with publicly available data without storing it, urging our clients to adhere to the GDPR guidelines. 

The Data 365 Social Media API offers a solution to similar tasks as those provided by the Facebook Graph API. Furthermore, it enables users to perform these tasks in different languages, including JavaScript, Python, Curl, and Go.

Facebook GraphQL API: why is it needed? 

SOAP and REST are the most common methods for data obtaining from a server. But the SOAP approach has shown significant problems with low memory and processing power devices, as well as ones with limited bandwidth. As an alternative to SOAP, the REST method improves communication efficiency in computing systems. It is a simple and supple model for passing data in the XML or JSON forms. As a result, communities all over the world adopted REST architecture.
But as the complexity of applications from companies such as Facebook, Twitter, GitHub, and many more have increased by long chalks, they have run into problems with the REST architectural style. Developers created GraphQL Facebook API to solve these problems. GraphQL is a strongly typed query language that lets clients identify the form of the data they need. The client controls the view! It results in fewer or no errors.
Essentially, Facebook GraphQL API is one of the APIs that replaced Facebook REST API, which is not used anymore and is supported exceptionally for historical and research goals.

Facebook Graph API explorer

With the API Graph Explorer Facebook, you can build and execute Graph API queries and view their responses.
You can use Facebook API Explorer for testing API requests with published application settings and with application settings in development mode using any sign-in permissions and features. And also to quickly generate access tokens, get request code samples and generate debugging information to include in support requests.

Social Media API from Data365 is primarily designed for integrating into the client's product, so we need not such a tool. After a joint call, we provide the client with an access token and help implement all the settings for successful integration.
During integration, we also provide access to the Postman platform.
This platform will help you test and fully introduce yourself to the functionality of the API: look at the formats of requests and responses, what data can be obtained for a particular request, etc.

In addition, Data365 Social Media API is completely based on HTTP methods, so to test our product, you can enter a request into the browser address and get a response in JSON format on a web page.

What data is available through Facebook Graph API?

The name of the Graph API emphasizes the connection with the “social graph”. The official Facebook API Graph consists of nodes (user, page, group, post, etc.) and fields (id, name, photo, etc.) that are node properties. Nodes can be used to retrieve data about a specific object, edges provide collections of objects associated with an individual object, and fields are designed to extract data about a single object or each object in a selection. In the documentation, both the nodes and the edges may be referred to as the endpoint.

To get specific fields in the response, you should point them out at the fields parameter in the Facebook Graph API request. But due to official Facebook API changes, you should have special permissions to get some fields.
Users can get from the official API highly restricted data due to Facebook's privacy policy. Examples of restricted data for privacy reasons you can find in the sections below.
In addition, there is a practice of special checks to gain access to data.

Are you looking for an alike feature set that is simple and will help you to extract data from social media platforms? Data365.co can be an option. Enhance your digital strategy with our social media API. Start your free trial today and experience the benefits firsthand!

Facebook Search Graph API

Since 2018, Facebook has significantly limited the capabilities of its Graph API, specifically impacting the ability to search for content. Now, developers can only search for pages using the Page API. Also, to use of Facebook Graph API search, it requires specific permissions, namely Page Public Content Access, which are granted only after a rigorous app review process. The data accessible through this official API is limited to Page-specific information such as ID, name, location, link, and public posts on certain verified profiles, as well as strict restrictions on access to Page profile pictures.

If you would like to obtain public data from social media, you can contact us for details. We can extract all the comprehensive information that is aligned with GDPR requirements.

Facebook Graph API search query

Below you can see an example of Facebook official API request to search pages for a keyword:

curl -i -X GET \
  "https://graph.facebook.com/pages/search?q=Facebook
  &fields=id,name,location,link
  &access_token={access-token}"

Example of Social Media API from Data365 requests for extracting data will look similar. So, if you need the solution as the official API, feel free to reach out us for details.

Facebook Graph API page

You can use the pages API from Facebook to get page insights.
Facebook Graph API requirements of getting public page data vary based on the page's status, unpublished or published, and unrestricted or restricted. Restrictions include any visibility restrictions such as by age or region. Note that for restricted pages, the app user must also satisfy any restrictions in order for data to be returned.

Depending on the status of the page and the required data, different types of tokens are needed, namely App Access Token, User Access Token, or Page Access Token.

There are two permissions to get page data: pages_read_engagement and pages_read_user_content. Using these permissions, you can get the data from pages that belong to you. For pages that are not owned by you, only public data can be retrieved. And it also needs permissions Page Public Content Access (PPCA) or Page Public Metadata Access (PPMA). With them, you can view company metadata, public comments, posts, etc. The entire list of public data you can view here. It is marked by the sentence Can be read with Page Public Content Access or Page Public Metadata Access.

Example of page data request for Facebook Graph API:

curl -i -X GET "https://graph.facebook.com/PAGE-ID?access_token=ACCESS-TOKEN"

In case of working with Social Media API from Data365, you don't need to enter tokens separately for access to certain public data, and after requesting the page data, you will immediately receive all the data related to it. For example, using this API, you can get public data from the social media pages, profiles, comments, etc.

Facebook Graph API user

With Facebook Graph API you can get fields and edges on a user. The public profile permission allows apps to get the following fields: id, first name, last name, middle name, name, name format, picture, short name. But other kinds of data can only be obtained from a profile that belongs to you.

Please contact us to learn more about what data our Social Media API by Data365 can extract. 

Facebook Graph API get username

Since version 2.0, Facebook has closed access to usernames from their API, emphasizing user privacy and data protection. This change requires developers to adapt to new data access protocols while ensuring compliance with privacy standards such as the GDPR.

If you're navigating these updates, consider leveraging Social Media APIs like those offered by Data365.co, which provide similar functionality under strict GDPR compliance. Explore these alternatives and enhance your data strategies responsibly—start with a free trial today!

Facebook Graph API group

The group API lets you read and create Facebook group data on behalf of group members.
If a group administrator installs your app in a group, you can both get access to group content, such as posts, photos, and videos, and post info to the group.
With Official Graph API, you can get information about a single group object, namely id and name of the group, cover and icon, description, member count, etc.
Access to public and private groups requires a user access token, to secret groups – a group administrator access token.
If you want to get the data of group members, you need permission groups_access_member_info. Administrators can also let you grab group members' public info if they would like to share their public information with your app in the group.

Our Social Media API ensures you with any public groups data. Contact us to learn more what information we can find for you. Usually our clients turn to us with the requests to get such profile group info as id, username, full name, biography (about), group photo URL, phone, current city, categories, language, member count, etc. In some cases, we can be helpful.

Facebook Graph API group feed

The official API provides you posts (including status updates and links) owned by this group.

An example of Facebook Graph API group posts request:

GET /v13.0/{group-id}/feed HTTP/1.1
Host: graph.facebook.com

This query returns a list of group posts. To receive group posts, the following requirements must be met:

• you must have a User access token;
• the application must be approved to use the Groups API;
• the app must be installed on the Group.

If you're seeking an alternative solution, consider the Data365 Social Media API. For more information about how our API can meet your needs, please contact us.

Facebook Graph API post

The official API can provide an individual post in a profile's feed. The profile could be a user, page, app, or group.
Depending on the post owners, you need the appropriate permission:

• A page access token can read all posts posted to or posted by that page.
• A user access token can read any post your application created on behalf of that user.
• A user's post can be read if the owner has granted the user_posts permission.
• A user access token may read a post that the user is tagged in if they have granted the user_posts permission.

You can see the list of post data that you can get on Graph API Version page.

Applying other Social Media APIs, you can also get bulk post data based on the ID or target public pages. Firstly, you can obtain different content from the post (text, language, list of hashtags, list of tagged users, owner ID).
Also, you can retrieve a number of shares, likes, comments, and reactions by type as well as a detailed list of reactors and shares for a post regardless of who is the owner of the post. The official API gives data on reactions, but they are very limited. A user or page can only query their own reactions. Other users' or pages' reactions are unavailable due to privacy concerns.
You can download selected comments and comments from a specific post. Besides, URLs of attachments (videos, images, previews, posts, links, etc.) are also available.
You can access texts, reactions, commenter and reactor profiles, and ownership information. Features include filters by date, time, and language, and options to sort data.

The Data365 Social Media API offers valuable data, similar to those mentioned above. Please contact us to get more details. 

Facebook Graph API get a post like count 

The official Facebook API gives only a list of people who have liked the object and a list of pages that the page or user has liked.
‍
To get a number of likes, Facebook Graph API suggests using the /object/reactions endpoint. You can get the total number of reactions, which includes likes, or the number of reactions by type (LIKE, LOVE, WOW, HAHA, SORRY, ANGRY).
‍
Sample Facebook Graph API request to view the count of likes:

curl -i -X GET \
 "https://graph.facebook.com/your-object-id
   ?fields=reactions.type(LIKE).limit(0).summary(total_count)
   &access_token=your-access-token" 

Example JSON returned:

{
  "reactions": {
    "data": [
    ],
    "summary": {
      "total_count": 3498
    }
  },
  "id": "your-object-id"
}

Reactions are considered for such objects as a comment, page post, post. A user or page can only query their own reactions, not other users' or pages' reactions due to privacy concerns. So, based on the official statement, we should conclude that users can receive a limited number of likes for the post because Facebook Graph API only gives the reactions that you set yourself.

Some alternative Social Media APIs provide the number of likes along with the post data. More detailed info about what post data companies usually look for  you can read above at the section Facebook Graph API post.

Facebook Graph API get latest comments

With the official Facebook Graph API, you can get comment data based on the comment ID.
Also, the Facebook API Graph ensures you get comments based on the object ID for which you want to get comments, namely: album, a comment, link, page, publication of the page, a photo, etc.
Similar to the reactions counting, you can get comments but limited because a user can only query their own comments, not other ones due to privacy concerns.
To retrieve other comments or a comment which is a reply to another comment, you need to have the same permissions as viewing its parent object or the parent object of the original comment respectively.

Social Media API alternatives can provide comments to the posts.
Upon the client's individual request, they can add receiving comment data based on the comment ID.
To get the latest comments with the official Facebook Graph API, you can specify the reverse_chronological parameter in the request.
Other APIs can also ensure you with the latest comments. You can sort comments from the newest to the oldest by specifying the order by parameter.

Facebook Graph API example

Let's consider an example of applying the Graph API Facebook to search for pages.
You can use search for a page to grab info about Facebook pages, specifically names, locations, etc. Using the official API, you can retrieve pages to @mention, page locations, and mark a page to show content.
If you're already signed in, you'll need the user's access token and application secret to create an API query. If you are not checking in, then you need an application access token with the ability to admit to the page's public metadata or the page's public content.
The official API gives a list of pages that fit the request criteria. You can add any fields you need in the page response.

Below you can see a Graph API Facebook example of query and response.

Sample Request

curl -i -X GET \
  "https://graph.facebook.com/pages/search?q=Facebook
  &fields=id,name,location,link
  &access_token={access-token}"

Sample Response

{
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "309968765748101",
      "name": "Facebook HQ",
      "location": {
        "city": "Menlo Park",
        "country": "United States",
        "latitude": 37.483183,
        "longitude": -122.149999,
        "state": "CA",
        "street": "1 Hacker Way",
        "zip": "94025"
      },
      "link": "https://www.facebook.com/Facebook-HQ-166793820034304/"
    },
    {
      "id": "194776097220801",
      "name": "Facebook Seattle",
      "location": {
        "city": "Seattle",
        "country": "United States",
        "latitude": 47.628293260721,
        "longitude": -122.34263420105,
        "state": "WA",
        "street": "1101 Dexter Ave N",
        "zip": "98109"
      },
      "link": "https://www.facebook.com/fbseattle/"
    },
    ...
  ]
}
 

The Data365 Social Media API provides robust functionality comparable to official APIs and supports extensive public data interaction. The API allows users to perform POST and GET requests to query profiles, posts, and comments. For more details on our comprehensive solution, please get in touch with us.

Facebook Graph API rate limit

For a certain period of time, the number of Facebook Graph API calls is limited. Upon reaching the limit, any further application requests will be declined.
Graph API requests through an app access token are included in the total number of application calls and are subject to the application's rate limit.
Graph API requests through a user's access token are included in the total number of calls made by the user.

The Data365 Social Media API sets parameters on data retrieval limits: it allows up to 300 posts from a profile and over 500 comments from a single post to be retrieved in one request, with a cap of 300 posts when retrieving multiple posts based on specific criteria. These limits are designed to optimize public data management and application performance.

And it can make up to 100 such requests per second.
Response time is usually 1-5 minutes, depending on the volumes of data in the request.

Facebook Graph API pricing

Facebook doesn't have a whole fixed pricing. The Facebook API Graph using cost is determined for each company individually and depends on many criteria (for example, the type of data that the company wants to receive, the amount of profit that the company receives from using Facebook data).

Data365 Social Media API pricing is simple and depends on what and how much data you want to receive per month. To account for the requested data, we introduced the mentioned indicator. Each data type has its own mention value. You can use our mentions calculator to determine your intake. In the calculator, you can choose what data and how much you want to receive, and as a result, you will get the total amount of data. Knowing your consumption volume, you can compare it with our pricing and find out how much our API will cost for you.
You will be surprised how low our prices are.

Conclusion 

Facebook Graph API enables access to a wide array of datasets such as posts, user profiles, groups, pages, and comments. 
There are also some economical alternatives to the Facebook Graph API. 
For example, Data365 simplifies the process of obtaining an access token, enhancing user convenience. With comprehensive support available throughout usage, Data365 Social Media API provides a valuable tool for brand development and social media analytics.