What is Facebook API get friends list and how to use it?

Lately, many users have become more privacy-conscious, limiting the information they post on social media. They either only share information with family and friends on their profiles or limit access to everyone except a select few. But when you have to do research about people on Facebook to check some information, then one of the easy ways is to check your friends list. 

The problems start when it is not possible to access your friends list because the person has hidden it. But with the help of a special API it is very easy to solve this problem. Receiving lists of friends is relevant not only for ordinary people, but also for companies engaged in marketing and advertising, analytics, data collection and research, development, and more. It looks at how a friend list can be accessed and how it can help businesses.

History of the Facebook API friends list

The Facebook API feature that allowed users to get a list of friends was launched to provide developers with opportunities to integrate Facebook's social features into their applications. From the very beginning, this feature provided access to the full list of users' friends, but after a while, due to the tightening of privacy policies, access was restricted. Thus, access could be gained only by those friends who had granted the appropriate permissions.

The main stages of this feature's development include the launch of the Graph API in 2010. Back then, Facebook introduced the Graph API to gain access to various data, including user friends lists. In 2014, there were privacy changes, and with the tightening of the policy, Facebook restricted access to friends' data, allowing you to get information only about those friends who also use this application. In 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was introduced, which further tightened the requirements for the processing and storage of users' data.

Facebook friends list on profile: How do I use it? 

A convenient feature that allows you to hide your friends' information from strangers can nowadays hinder the work of commercial and non-profit organizations. In particular, for those engaged in social media analysis and using Facebook friend lists for various purposes, including

1. Marketing and advertising. Companies use this data to create targeted audiences for advertising campaigns, as well as to analyze social connections between users to improve the effectiveness of marketing strategies.
2. Research. Information about social connections can be used for research in social sciences, psychology, and marketing to understand user behavior.
3. Content personalization. Organizations can use data about a user's friends to provide personalized recommendations for goods and services.

Today, there are alternative solutions on the market that allow you to get data from social networks to analyze social connections without the need to use Facebook friend lists. One such solution is Data365.co Social Media API, which allows you to extract public data from social networks for further analysis.

How to get Facebook friends with API?

Information about friends is one of the most popular types of data because it is essential for various applications. It is widely used for visualizing social connections, monitoring opinions, and other purposes. Since it's impossible to get this data directly from Facebook, you have to use auxiliary services. 

Facebook api get friends list restricted access to friend data in 2014 (starting with version 2.0), and in 2018 (starting with version 3.2), it completely removed this feature. However, some programs can help you get a list of friends by various means, including the use of private Facebook APIs available on the market. These are easy to find on Google. However, when choosing among them, it is important to pay attention to such aspects as the number of friends you can get per request, the response format, and the cost of a subscription or subscription plan.

For whom is it suitable?

Access to a Facebook friends list may be necessary for developers and organizations that have legitimate reasons for obtaining this information. In particular, it is necessary for:

• Developers who create applications that integrate with Facebook. For example, these could be social media management tools, games connecting friends, chatbots, etc.
• Marketers who need to understand their audience better can use this data. For example, collecting data for apps that help users connect with friends to make recommendations, share purchases, or organize events.
• Analysts who study social media and human interaction can access friends lists to research social behavior or network dynamics.

The data obtained can also be used by non-profit companies in social and educational projects to create platforms for volunteering and charity events and organize student groups and clubs based on interests. It can also be used to develop platforms to support a healthy lifestyle and mutual assistance.

Thus, get facebook friends list, can be used for various purposes, including application development. Let's take a look at how to get a list of Facebook friends and their posts using an API.

Private Facebook API: how to see friends list on facebook and publications

A list of profile friends is available through any private facebook api friends list. Since Facebook removed the ability to view your friends list using its API, there are now third-party services that can help with accessing the data. And numerous private companies offer an API to retrieve your Facebook friends list. 

Please note, through private Facebook API you can only retrieve the friends list of profiles whose friends lists are publicly available. Also, you will only be able to retrieve a fraction of your friends, not all of them, as the web version of Facebook is limited in the number of friends you can retrieve. Moreover, using private Facebook APIs, you can get a list of profile publications.

Conclusion

Facebook remains one of the most influential social platforms and is a source of fascinating information and data about people. User data can be used for a variety of purposes, from integrating it into various applications to tracking public opinion and so on. To get your friends list, you have to use additional services for that. Private APIs can help you get your friends list and explore the information that people post. Now that you know how to see friends list on facebook you can use this information for your purposes. But remember that while private APIs facilitate data access, users must handle any personal data following GDPR principles and regulations. It means that you should not scrape personal data unless you have a legitimate reason to do so.

Our product is a social media API designed for businesses that analyze social media and create social media monitoring products. In cooperation with analytics platforms, we help collect public data for media analysis, brand and influencer tracking, keyword monitoring on social media, and other areas. If you are interested in similar solutions, please contact our sales team, and we will see how we can help in your case.